Most movies have a long journey to movie theaters, but “5-25-77” has a longer one than most. As the title might suggest, it’s a coming-of-age picture about the release of the original “Star Wars,” based in part on the experiences of writer-director Patrick Read Johnson, who was one of the first people outside the creators to see “Star Wars,” before going on to write or direct movies including “Dragonheart,” “Baby’s Day Out” and “Angus.”
Johnson began developing the project in 1999 after teaming up with original “Star Wars” producer Gary Kurtz, and began shooting the low-budget project, about an aspiring filmmaker in the run up to the release of George Lucas’ film, in 2004, with production continuing on-and-off until 2006 (though pick-ups have been done more recently too).
It’s been recut and reshaped over the years, with work-in-progress screenings as far back as 2007, but it’s finally done and set to hit theaters on May 25th, 2017, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the release of “Star Wars,” and distributor Filmio have debuted a trailer for the picture over at Ain’t It Cool News.
The film stars John Francis Daley (then the lead in “Freaks & Geeks,” now the writer of “Spider-Man Homecoming” and the director of “Vacation”), Austin Pendleton, Colleen Camp and Neil Flynn, and you can watch the trailer below, as well as book tickets for the premiere in Waukegan, Illinois right now.