So, a big bunch of Star Wars Episode VII on set pictures have gone online in the last few hours. In a nutshell, we won’t be carrying them. The closet you’ll get is a bunch of ones we made ourselves.Over the years I’ve always struggled with posting images and video that have been taken covertly on set. Yes we’re a news site and yes, like every other site, we strive to pull in more traffic. But being brutally honest, I don’t see the point in running these sorts of images anymore. While they would pull in a few cheap page views (ok, something like this would bring in a lot of page views, albeit still cheap), ultimately they serve no purpose in the long run and while we have a traffic benefit of running them, I’m choosing not to publish them.
Star Wars has defined so many of us and will continue to do so. We helped build Skywalker Ranch for the love of God. So, what’s the point in destroying the excitement and anticipation of what’s to come. For some insane reason, I’ve got a sense of loyalty of J.J. Abrams. I understand (and appreciate) what he’s trying to do by keeping all this secret. And it is so true. Movies are ruined with covert photos like this and no doubt there will be many more. I recall running videos and images of the Bat Wing from The Dark Knight Rises and I can vividly recall how shaky and crap the thing looked. And while it was magnificent in the movie, I still had the disappointed vibe in the back of my mind. But we live and learn.
Christmas 2015 will be very special for millions of people around the world when Episode VII opens, so please, let’s keep the wrapping on the box for just a little while longer!
