Several years ago, prior to "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" was released in theaters, I purchased the novel at Wal-Mart. I had a history of reading the novelization of movies in this franchise prior to seeing the movie. I remember after "The Empire Strikes Back" was released, I was sick and couldn't go to see it with my dad and brother. I had read the book and started asking detailed questions about what I had read in the novel and how they were portrayed in the movie. I don't recall neither my father nor my brother providing extensive answers, more or less not answering my specific questions. It was their way of telling me 'You have to just go see it to find out the differences between the novel and movie.'
Fast forward to 2015 and "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" being released on 12/18/2015 - a week from tomorrow. I had the thought to look online to see if I could purchase an eBook of the novel or to find out if a hard-copy version was already available at Barnes & Noble - it would be a great Christmas present. Thus, I was saddened to read the novelization is not being released until the day the movie is released, as described in this article.
I fully understand why the novel is not being released prior to the movie in 2015. There wasn't widespread use of the Internet when "Empire" was released and certainly, by 2002, the Internet existed, but I don't recall it being used for providing spoilers for upcoming movies like it is now. In a sense, it's the same principle as why Lars Ulrich went after Napster - it was the release of their art in a way that wasn't under their control. so, sure, after working so hard on a movie, I understand why releasing the book early would be detrimental. That doesn't mean there won't be posts on websites when a new Chinese trailer with previously unseen footage, as described on this page. There's posts on websites when new images are posted, as described on this page. Now is also the era where fear drives creativity to new levels.
At the end of the day, not releasing the novelization ahead of time is a good move. It's an attempt to return fans of the original trilogy to the movie theater, especially if those fans were critical of the second trilogy (I - III). It's all about building excitement about the franchise as a new chapter of the story is told.
#Yes Yes, yes, yes, I know that the popularity of Metallica grew from tape traders sharing their "No Life Till Leather" demo across the country.
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