Disney announces 'Star Wars Episode VII' December 18, 2015, release date and confirms future theme park plans for Lucasfilm franchise

Star Wars Episode VII this week just received its official release date from Disney and Lucasfilms. On December 18, 2015, J.J. Abrams' new film will bring us back into the Star Wars franchise with the start of a brand new trilogy. That said, there was plenty of other news that came out this week. Let's take a look back at the other bits of information we can gather on this Episode VII project.

"We're very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture," Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement on StarWars.com this week.

Check out a new interview with Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger announcing the release date as well as the plans to open Star Wars theme parks.

Meanwhile, Saiorse Ronan recently revealed that earlier rumors linking her to the Star Wars film were false and that she did not get a role in the movie.

"I don't have Star Wars. I don't have the role. I just shouldn't have said anything," she said, referring to how she confirmed her audition earlier this year, which led to casting rumors. "I just auditioned for it, like everyone else did."

So Ronan isn't involved, but we still have no idea who is!

Regardless of the cast, Abrams is definitely keeping the Star Wars fans in mind with this movie.

"It's certainly something, because of the passion and vocal nature of the fans of Star Trek and Star Wars, there's no way to ignore them," the director said of the fans of these franchises. "You'd never want to. They are the reason these films get made and I feel incredibly lucky to be involved in any of these stories. But I do think you also have to be careful that you don't start to take any of what you're reading, or hearing or being told is being written, too much to heart because it can, I think, actually get in the way of the focus you have to have on the work itself."