By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter
May the force be with rival Hollywood studios trying to get their trailers placed before Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, from director J.J. Abrams.
One Star Trek Beyond tied to Force Awakens, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The Star Wars reboot launches in select theaters on the evening of Dec. 17 before opening everywhere in North America on Dec. 18.
It’s no surprise that the latest installment in the Star Trek series would get favored treatment. Abrams, whose Bad Robot production company is based at Paramount, produced Star Trek Beyond after directing the first two films in the revitalized franchise, Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
Abrams gave up directing duties on Star Trek Beyond to helm Star Wars: Force Awakens for Lucasfilm and Disney.
Star Trek Beyond doesn’t open in theaters until July 22, but there couldn’t be a better berth to showcase the film than Force Awakens.
Other 2016 tentpoles likely to secure trailer placement include Warner Bros.’ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25), Universal’s The Huntsman’s Winter War (April 22), X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27) and Independence Day: Resurgence (June 24). The latter two are both from Fox.
And that doesn’t include potential promos from Disney, whether The Jungle Book (April 15), Captain America: Civil War (May 6) or Finding Dory (June 17).
Related: George Lucas to Attend ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Premiere: “He Really Liked It” (Exclusive)
Watch our breakdown of the Japanese ‘Star Wars’ trailer:
