Release date confirmed for Star Wars: Episode VII

No official title yet, but we did get something big out of D23 this weekend. We learned the rumor of a summer 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII is indeed true. Previously the time frame was "planned for 2015."

Now... with this we still don't have an exact date. A summer release date gives us a window from June to September. Many are speculating that the release will be right after The Avengers: Age of Ultron which is set for May 1, 2015. The reasoning being that all six previous Star Wars films have been released in May.
Confirming Star Wars for Disney's ridiculously crowded 2015 schedule definitely puts it in a pigeonhole for timing. I highly doubt it will join the July schedule which already contains Pirates of the Caribbean 5 and Independence Day 2. If it doesn't share May with The Avengers, it is possible it could share June with the Disney/Pixar flick Inside Out. In the fall we have Ant-Man and Finding Dory, but both are hitting theaters after summer is technically over. In other words, Disney basically owns 2015.
We also have some Disney projects without official release dates that could be in 2015. These include, but are not limited to, Cinderella and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

My guess will be a late May release date to keep the tradition. Putting it in the later half of the month allows The Avengers to fizzle out a bit and open up some screens for Star Wars to come blazing in. If Disney doesn't pair anything with Inside Out in June, that allows even more time for Star Wars to fizzle before Pirates of the Caribbean comes on July 10th.