For the first time in the franchise's history, a "Star Wars" film won't be released in the summer.
Walt Disney Studios announced Thursday that "Star Wars: Episode VII" will open in theaters on Dec. 18, 2015. The original 1977 film helped set the precedent of the summer blockbuster. But this latest installation in George Lucas' space opera will be a holiday season affair.
The project recently shuffled screenwriters, worrying much of the "Star Wars" fan universe. Screenwriter Michael Arndt exited, with director J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan taking over the script.
Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said the December date will "ensure our extraordinary team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture."
"Star Wars VII" is set to begin shooting in the spring at Pinewood Studios.
OpenAI files confidential SEC paperwork for IPO, opening the door to a Wall Street debut
ChatGPT maker OpenAI filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door to it becoming a publicly traded company, the third in a powerhouse trio of artificial intelligence companies racing to Wall Street debuts.
The San Francisco-based company said Monday it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
"We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," the company said in a statement. "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it's a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best."
OpenAI's move follows its rival Anthropic's June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering of shares. Both are now following Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first publicly floated the possibility of an IPO last fall, describing it as the "most likely path" for the company given its size and the need for vast amounts of capital to advance its technology.
OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a company valued at $852 billion.
The filing comes at a "precarious moment" for OpenAI as it appears to be losing ChatGPT's strong early leads with consumers and businesses to Google and Anthropic, said Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott.
"But OpenAI doesn't have a lot of other places to look for the enormous capital required to support its costs," Elliott said.
Paving the way for going public was OpenAI's decision last year to reorganize its business structure and... Read More