While J.J. Abrams has said that there wouldn't be any more trailers for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, he apparently wasn't counting international trailers, tv spots, and the upcoming "exclusive special look" at STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS which will air on ABC during their TGIT line-up of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder.
Shondra Rhimes, whose ShondaLand production company produces all three shows, announced the news today on Twitter.
Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder occupy 8-11pm PST on Thursday's, but unfortunately we can't tell you exactly when this exclusive look into STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS will air during that three hour block or how much, if any, new footage will be contained in the preview. If there are any gems, we'll be sure to bring them to you.
I've mentioned it more than a few times, but the marketing for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has been exemplary; it's given us some truly wonderful images but has kept the plot largely mysterious, just the way it should be. There's been a tendency lately to give away far too much in trailers, and in some cases even spoil plot twists, but everything we've seen of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has been refreshing vague. Director J.J. Abrams expressed his gratitude about Disney's marketing approach in his recent interview with Wired:
I give credit to, and frankly surprisingly so, the incredible people at Disney, especially Alan Horn [chair of Walt Disney Studios] and Bob Iger [Disney CEO]. Bob’s been unbelievably collaborative and supportive of this entire process. When it came to marketing, I was expecting Disney to want to put out an overabundance of material. But they’ve been incredibly reluctant to do that. They want this thing to be an experience for people when they go to see the film. And I’m grateful for that.
There’s a really positive side to keeping quiet. You can protect the audience from spoilers or certain moments that, in a way, obviate the movie experience. But on the other hand, you risk being seen as coy or as a withholding shithead. That’s never my intent. Because Lucasfilm has been so engaged with the fans and so forthcoming about what they’re doing, it would have felt oddly inconsistent to not show anything until just before the movie came out. I actually personally pushed to have a teaser come out a year before, just because it felt like, as a fan of Star Wars, if I could see even the littlest thing I’d be psyched a year out. Why not? So we did.
But I don’t want to destroy too many illusions. We’re walking a tightrope. If you fall on one side it’s no good, because we’re showing too much. If you fall on the other side it’s no good, because we’re not showing anything and we look like arrogant jerks.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens on December 18, 2015.