Star Wars Episode VII To Skip 2014 Comic Con

Conspicuously absent from the listing was anything in the way of official promotion for Star Wars Episode VII, the new film in production from director J.J. Abrams and featuring much of the original trilogy’s cast.

“With Star Wars: Episode VII creators deep in production in anticipation of the film’s December 18, 2015, release, Lucasfilm will not be featuring the movie at SDCC,” Lucasfilm said briefly in a comment buried in the middle of the panel schedule.

While this move isn’t overly surprising, Disney had been somewhat flexible in the past, flying the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy out to San Diego just days after production started on that film and bringing early footage from Iron Man 3 to the convention. An on-set injury that sidelined Harrison Ford has also briefly shut down production, leading some to speculate that schedules might open up for a major promotional appearance like Comic Con.

Like when Disney did not present the film at D23, there are likely to be rumors that a presentation of some kind will take place, but at present, the studio have made it clear that those involved in the movie are deep in production and will not be made available to fans and the press. By this time next year, it’s likely the film will be through with principal photography and into the post-production process, meaning the studio could send much of the cast and crew there without interrupting too much.