J.J. Abrams Didn’t Want To Release ‘Star Wars’ Trailer, Needed To Be Convinced

J.J Abrams needed to be convinced to release the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Bob Iger, the chief over at the Walt Disney Company, who owns Lucasfilm, has now revealed during a discussion with Variety, via Indiewire, that Abrams needed to be talked into making the footage public because the director wanted to keep as much of the film as secret as possible.

Iger noted that there was even talks about whether they should release any footage at all of The Force Awakens. However, he finally won over Abrams by telling him that it cost Disney $4 billion to purchase the rights to Star Wars, and they needed to treat it as such.

“I keep telling J.J. Abrams this is a $4 billion movie. We need to treat this very special. It’s an unbelievable privilege and unbelievable responsibility to take a jewel and treat it in a way that is respectful of its past but brings it into the future.”

Bob Iger confirmed that the “rabid Star Wars fanbase” was the key reason why he ultimately convinced Abrams and Disney to release the footage. And he can feel pretty vindicated for that, because the clip has been an unmitigated success.

The new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has proved to be hugely popular. In fact, it is now believed to have overtaken Fifty Shades Of Grey as the most watched trailer on the internet. The clip has already amassed over 90 million views, and it has convinced hesitant Star Wars fans that the franchise really is in safe hands with J.J. Abrams at the helm.

Fans are already demanding more footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, they will have to wait a few months before their request is met. The next trailer for the seventh installment to the hugely popular franchise isn’t expected to be released until Avengers: Age Of Ultron hits cinemas next summer.

Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilms, and they are well aware that Star Wars fans are likely to go and watch Age Of Ultron when it is released on May 1, 2015, in North America.

Disney and Marvel will be hoping that it can match the success of the original Avengers film, which was released back in 2012. The Avengers grossed $1.5 billion at the box office and is the third highest grossing film of all time. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will hit cinemas on December 18, 2015.