STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII... Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren Set to Return to the Big Screen on December 15, 2017

Considering how successful The Force Awakens was during its record-breaking box office run over the past month or so, it's no surprise that Disney and Lucasfilm have decided to try catching lightning in a bottle twice by changing Star Wars: Episode VIII's release date. Instead of bowing in theaters on May 26, 2017 (which would've marked the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope's theatrical debut on May 25, 1977), Episode VIII will instead be unleashed in cinemas seven months later. And just like how Marvel's decision to release Captain America: Cvil War (Marvel is also owned by Disney) on May 6 prompted Warner Bros. to change Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's release date to March 25 instead (Dawn of Justice was originally intended to come out on May 6 as well), Episode VIII's schedule change has prompted FOX and director James Cameron to indefinitely delay the release of Avatar 2—which was set to debut on Christmas Day, 2017.

FOX cites Cameron's pace on the sequel's lengthy pre-production period as reason for the delay, but it's also likely that the idea of clashing with the follow-up to the most successful domestic film of all time (inflation aside) was another catalyst for not releasing Avatar 2 next year. If it was a choice between going up against Episode VIII in 2017 or the Han Solo spin-off film in December of 2018, I think that FOX would prefer the latter...unless Harrison Ford decides to make a cameo in the Han Solo flick. Carry on.

Suicide Squad...

"We're bad guys. It's what we do." So are the words of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) as she, Deadshot (Will Smith), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and company are recruited by a clandestine government agency to save the world in Suicide Squad. Check out the newest trailer for the upcoming DC Comics film (which opens in theaters nationwide on August 5) below. All I can say is, you can never go wrong with featuring the Queen song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in a movie trailer. That is all.

"What was that? I should kill everyone and escape? Sorry... The voices. I'm kidding! It's not what they really said." - Harley Quinn

---

Meet Matt: Starkiller Base's Radar Technician...

Check out this funny Saturday Night Live skit with Adam Driver reprising his role as the villainous Kylo Ren during last night's SNL broadcast, which Driver hosted. All I can say is, this skit—which spoofed the reality TV show Undercover Boss—was hi-larious! I think I came close to watching this video as many times as I viewed the trailers and TV spots for Star Wars: The Force Awakens themselves. The million dollar question is: Would Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base (a.k.a. Undercover Ren) be considered Star Wars canon? Wouldn't be surprised if the official Star Wars website someday had an article about Lieutenant Colonel Zack and the tragic tale of his son losing his life as a Stormtrooper...to Kylo himself. Plus, I'm curious as to what a calcinator is. I reckon it's a device that checks the calcium levels of First Order personnel who've been stationed at Starkiller Base for a prolonged period of time. Yes, I'm being kinda serious.

"Hearing that Zack lost his son really struck a nerve with me. Especially since I'm the one that killed him." - Matt, the radar technician

---

Images of the Day: THE FORCE AWAKENS Posters Courtesy of AMC Theatres!

On every Sunday from December 20th of last year to January 10 (two days ago), AMC Theatres handed out these four cool posters if you watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX 3-D at any theater owned by this chain. I'd have to say that my favorite one is the final poster depicting Finn engaged in a lightsaber duel with Kylo Ren (shown at the bottom of this entry); my second favorite (directly below) being of Poe Dameron watching as Resistance X-Wing fighters fly overhead.



I'm wondering if AMC and Lucasfilm/Disney will have this promotional campaign for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December as well. In all honesty, I hope not! I dished out at least 15 bucks each time I watched The Force Awakens in so-called premium large format over the past four weeks. That's how the movie currently made more than $813 million domestically at the box office...

THE FORCE AWAKENS: $813 Million and Counting!

Much props to J.J. Abrams and company for continuing to set box office records with Star Wars: The Force Awakens...which became the first film to cross the $800 million mark in the United States and Canada alone. This weekend saw the seventh live-action film in the science-fantasy franchise continue to solidify its position as the highest-grossing film of all-time domestically (making $42.4 million this weekend for a current tally of $813 million in North America), and the third all-time international grosser as it surpassed Jurassic World with a current worldwide box office take of $1.75 billion. With the movie now showing in China (where it made around $52 million since opening in that country yesterday), it's only a matter of time that Episode VII will reach the $2 billion mark. And one wonders if Disney will try to give The Force Awakens a chance to reach the $1 billion domestic mark by having the film play in U.S. and Canadian theaters for as long as possible. We shall see.

AVATAR Is Finally Bested By THE FORCE AWAKENS!

Yesterday, Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally made history by surpassing Avatar's domestic gross of $760.5 million at the box office. The Force Awakens earned $6.2 million on Wednesday...leading to a current tally of $764.4 million in North America. One wonders if James Cameron is currently hard at work coming up with even more awesome action sequences that will give Avatar 2 a chance at reclaiming the box office crown in late 2017. We'll see. Star Wars: Episode VIII storms theaters nationwide seven months before the Na'vi returns to the big screen next year.