It seems that news of SW: EP 2 being pushed UP to Summer 2001 (to match it with LOTR) is unfounded. Episode2.net has an interview with George Lucas in the Swedish Magazine ‘Expressen’ and they asked the bearded wonder the ultimate question:
Expressen: WHEN WILL THE NEXT FILM BE RELEASED?
GL:From the beginning my plans where to make them with three years interval, but now I’ve realized that it takes four years to do a movie in reality, because the production has been even more extensive than I could imagine. Still, the vision of course is to release “Episode 2” in 2002, but as it seems today, its more likely be in 2003.
I seem to remember George Lucas on Leno saying something to the same effect earlier this summer. So it seems the dreams of Star Wars and LOTR in the same summer will not come true.
