While that gives us a firm timeline to latch on to and obsess over, perhaps the most important bit is that casting on the principle characters has mostly been completed, even though no official announcements have been made and likely won't for awhile longer. But McWeeny says that "pretty much everyone who could make a return will make a return", which means we can probably count on Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford turning up as predicted.
So expect a few more "scoops" about Zac Efron, Benedict Cumberbatch, or whoever having met Abrams for a drink and thus they must be playing a Jedi or something. All of the silly guessing will be over soon as Star Wars: Episode VII draws ever closer.
