Could 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Be Pushed Back to 2016?

When Disney announced it was purchasing Lucasfilm, the House of Mouse immediately scheduled Star Wars: Episode VII for 2015. With J.J. Abrams officially on board to direct the first film of the Sequel Trilogy, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that there's a chance that Abrams' selection could cause Disney to push the movie's release date back a year.

Episode VII is set for release in 2015, but sources say Abrams has not committed to that release date, meaning the date could be changed if the development process requires it.

Abrams is still wrapping up Star Trek Into Darkness, so this actually makes sense. I know that a lot of people are going to whine about Disney making fans wait another year for the relaunch of the iconic series, but an extra year wouldn't hurt. Movies that get rushed into production generally don't turn out well. Setting a date before getting all of a film's pieces in place doesn't usually lead to a quality movie. Look at what happened with Iron Man 2 when Marvel had director Jon Favreau work with hitting a release date instead of producing a quality movie as his goal.

The script for Episode VII is still being written. Abrams has only just come on board. If Disney/Lucasfilm sticks to the traditional Star Wars release schedule with this one, Episode VII would hit theaters in May 2015. That's just over two years away. Could they hit that target? Yes, I'm sure they could. Would I rather Abrams and company take the extra year needed to deliver the greatest Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back? Definitely.