March 25th, 2013
02:35 PM ET
J.J. Abrams charts his 'Star Wars' pathMuch like Luke Skywalker, director J.J. Abrams doesn't have much of a targeting computer when it comes to the Death Star-sized questions surrounding "Star Wars Episode VII." "I don't know because we're just getting started," Abrams told Empire Magazine when asked about how he will take on the much anticipated sequel. "There are infinitely more questions than answers right now."
But for Abrams, "Star Wars" isn't the only beloved space saga that currently resides in his galaxy. With "Star Trek Into Darkness" rapidly approaching, Abrams has his full attention on The Federation rather than the Evil Empire, which is one of the major reasons that he passed on "Episode VII" originally. "My knee-jerk reaction [to directing 'Episode VII'] was that I'm in the middle of working on the 'Star Trek' movie and I can't even consider it," Abrams told Empire. "But then time went by and I got further along working on the movie and getting to a place where I had done most of the heavy lifting." He also goes on to say that after talking to Kathleen Kennedy (the producer of the upcoming "Star Wars" film and the new head of Lucasfilm) and Steven Spielberg that he became very "engaged" in the idea. "I will say that Steven [Spielberg] was very encouraging of 'Star Wars,'" the filmmaker said. "It's funny, because I talked to him about it and it turned out he knew all about what was going on."
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It’s arduous to find knowledgeable people on this topic, however you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
If Harrison, Fisher, and Hamill are in than I will definitely go see it for them alone.
Spielberg is conducting this train with Lucas shoveling the coal. JJ is just a passenger. If this premonition rains true than I will go see it. I still think the IV V VI were amazingly the best IMO. But we will see.
hahahahaa
I still find it really weird that the current director of the Star Trek movies will be taking over the helm for the Star Wars franchise. I'd equate it Peter Jackson director both LOTR and the Harry Potter movies.
Great now that he has completely destroyed Star Trek he is onto Star Wars
Star Wars was already ruined.
Watch a behind the scenes for Peter Jackson and he gets fatter and more of a slob the closer to production. Watch bts with George Lucas and he looks more neat and trim the closer the release gets. One is a business man, the other an artist.
the original 3 were magic in a theater.b4 internet and dvd. blood ,sweat and tears made those movies. people painted on glass. people spent months making real sets and models. They did a lot of on location shooting. Peter Jackson is the new master. Enjoy so called retirement. Mr. control freak Lucas. We know your still in control.
Another good morning
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Just get the biggest nerds on the planet and they'll come out with a great story.
J.J. seems OK, but how can you go wrong with Star Trek and Star Wars. The fans will watch just about anything you put out. It's like the old Tarzan movies. Pacy, pacy!
Just watch, he'll put it into an alternate universe just to make it "different". Crap!
They need to sit down at the computer and play SWTOR then do a strip that includes Revan. Him and his band of jedi and sith carved a path of both destruction throughout the galaxy during his time. The one Jedi turned Sith then turned screw the Jedi and Sith.
sweetie
Too late – the two franchises have already mixed together. Remember seeing R2D2 in the debris field shown in Abram's 2009 Star Trek? The only question now is: how will they expand on what has already been set up?
Guess Star Wars franchise is as creatively dead as Star Trek. Maybe JJ could get Glen Larson to sell him the movie rights to Battlestar Galactica. Really, can a creative mind be given leave to create a sci-fi movie these days or is all about cashing-in-the-rehash?
The entire plot of the new Star Wars revolves around the difficultly of integrating gay marriage into the newly reconstructed Galactic Republic, on top of a never ending series of budget politics, fiscal cliffs, sequesters, etc...no rest for the Jedi. :/
done deal again...back to the same issue you looked and didn't ask–i would never do that too her...i know your issues and i never judged her–
I always thought Joss Whedon would be a great director for Star Wars. He already has the space western niche down.
Unfortunately the writing in Fire Fly was predictable. You could think to yourself, what is the most cliche thing a person would say at this point, and that is what the dialogue would be.
I love Joss and he's certainly matured in my eyes in terms of his recent efforts but Star Wars has always been something of a different beast than most sci-fi. Its one of the few movies with a story that can actually be described as Space Opera and despite the fact that the prequels were much maligned by most (including me) the idea of a monomyth tragedy in 3 parts resonates even today.
J J is one of the few writer/director/producers out there that doesn't seem to think that the world has to be viewed through rose coloured glasses to appeal to a mass audience and for that reason alone I think its a great pick.
Moreover, having one director do both Trek and Wars will give him the ability to tap into the popular sci-fi cultural zeitgeist in a way no one else ever has or could.
please don't use any of the storyline of the new jedi order. it's terrible. if you're not using Thrawn, as they have stated, then use Rogue Squadron or imperial remnants or something like that as the basis.
Or, they could completely ignore the EU because it is entirely terrible.
If there had been blogs in 1979, fans would have gotten hysterically upset that a B-movie director named Irvin Kershner was stomping all over their beloved Star Wars. Wait and see, folks.
Abrams is being coy. Lucasfilm employees already dropped the scoop. This film has been plotted and the principal actors signed on since 2009. The entire original cast is in, and the script was already carved in stone when they sold to Disney.
I wouldn't waste a dime on anything by JJ Abrams, because I used to watch LOST. I was one of the smart people who realized it was a fraud and stopped before they revealed that time-traveling polar bears had whatever or something. Good luck finding an audience for LOST in Space II. I hear his "Star Trek" blows.
Too bad, because it had a great ending on it. The ending was never shown on television. You had to buy/rent the dvd to see it. And it was definitely worth it.
Have to agree that Abrams had a huge idea with Lost and then dropped the ball ... big time. Anyone who says the ending to Lost was anything but rubbish is delusional and willing to settle for anything.
Not me .... I have refused to watch anything he's involved in since. I feel sorry for Star Wars fans, they are in for a big let down unless sharper minds keep Abrams on course.
There is going to be a lot of lead up to VII. I really don't want to know anything until I walk into the theater. Spoilers are the worst. Previews are even bad generally. TV ads ruin not having any preconceived notions about what is going to happen. I want to be surprised.
I might want to stop clicking on articles about it then.
I really don't care who does what. I'm just hoping that this Star Wars in a good one.
JJ Abrams is a fool. Dump him. DO NOT WANT.
Oh my god please keep Spielberg away from this film!!! Does anybody remember "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"??????
Lucas wrote the story for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The reason that movie sucked was more Lucas than it was Spielberg.
We need another Star Wars Christmas special.
Shouldn't the headline be "Abrams Hasn't Yet Charted His Star Wars Path"? And what's up with that cheesy opening paragraph? And the gist of the article is that Abrams has done little more than speak to his boss and Spielberg about it since he got the job? Fascinating.
I was wondering the same thing, the whole story basically boils down to "We've got nothing to report!"
"He sought out advice on Star Wars from Steven Spielberg, rather than George Lucas?" – Josh
Of course he did. Spielberg has more talent in his thumb than Lucas has in his whole body. The one thing J.J. needs to do is ignore everything Lucas says. Don't let Lucas butcher the Star Wars Franchise anymore like he did with the Terrible Prequels.
He sought out advice on Star Wars from Steven Spielberg, rather than George Lucas?
Why would JJ consult Lucas? Lucas clearly doesn't know anything about Star Wars
I think we are all forgetting the more important character of all...Jar Jar Binks and his hilarious charm
Jar Jar needs to appear for a very short scene in which Han Solo Blasts him FIRST (cold blooded, just like he shot Greedo FIRST), after he discovers Jar Jar is responsible for the vote that placed the Emperor into power.
10 reasons why the sequel will be better than the prequel
10. No Anakin
9. No Padme
8. No Boss Naas
7. No Naboo
6. No Trade Federation
5. No Anakin
4. No "Sound of Music" moves (remember Padme running on the hillside in II?)
3. No Anakin
2. No Anakin
1. No Hayden Christenson.
1. No George Lucas ideas (Hopefully)....The first six movies COULD have been some of the greatest films ever made......But as with ALL his films.....he has a good start...then screws the pooch......
You greatly underestimate the power of the force.
All those characters could easily be in the next movie. SciFi is full of plausible reasons for discontinuities.
NO Hayden Christenson
No Jar Jar.
J.J. Abrams presents Star Wars VII: The Return of Lens Flare
Hey now, there was lens flare in the original SW: ANH.
Here's an idea: Star Trek meets Star Wars. Kind of like the Flinstones meet the Jetsons kind of thing. I want a million dollars for this idea. Or how about a versus spin off? And, I want a cameo.
that is crap.
Yeah TOTAL crap.
"Yes, this is terrible... This is terrible idea."
Too late. About 15 years ago I read the first page or two of some horrid fan fiction in which Picard and the Enterprise went through some kind of a wormhole and ended up a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The first thing that happened was they were attacked by a Star Destroyer. A few photon torpedoes took care of that. The their sensors picked up a small cargo type vessel. From there it went downhill fast.
Biggest problem with this is that the Enterprise doesn't come close to the firepower of a single Star Destroyer, let alone the entire fleet.
Some nerd somewhere (and I'm a nerd for knowing this) calculated the reported firepower of one Star Destroyer (Class II) vs the Enterprise-E a few years back, and the Enterprise couldn't even crack through the deflector shield of the Star Destroyer. Keep in mind that Star Trek is our technology a few hundred years in the future, Star Wars is alien technology potentially THOUSANDS of years in advance. The Enterprise is closer to the size of the Medical Frigate (Nebulon-B). Keep in mind the Super Star Destroyer (the Executor in SW:ISB/SW:RoJ) was 19 Kilometers long, and had a gross of TIE-FIghters. Yeah... The Enterprise loses...
totally geeking out on this, but i'd put my money on the Picard Enterprise over a Star Destroyer. The Star Destroyer is bigger, but using laser blasters I think. In Star Trek lasers wouldn't penetrate the shields. Whereas the Enterprise can "modulate" (or make up words) to get around force fields. Star Wars ships seem to be able to go farther faster than warp ships, but Star Trek ships have transporters. The edge in ground troops definately goes to Storm Troopers, but I'd take a star trek phaser over Han Solo's little laser blaster any day.
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How about the 4 billion dollars he donated to education or charity? thats the legacy that shud have the most lasting impact
I am assuming knows he is ill. He has always been private. He wanted to keep his legacy alive. I am the biggest SW fan so accept his decision. I do not like it, but accept it. Hardly a sellout for what he sold it for. There is a reason. I think he knows and trusts JjAbrams. He has NOT failed Roddenberry. I think He can switch gears. Give him a chance. I am a loyalist, but in fairness our beloved mentors are human and older. Fresh insight helps
J.J. had failed Roddenberry.
One of Roddenberry foundations for Star Trek, is that there could never be any conflicts between its main characters. The main characters were always to be presented as one big happy family.
Thats BS. Spock had conflict with Kirk more than once in TOS, and DS9 had it in the first season with Kira and everyone else. If anyone failed him it would be the idiots behind Enterprise.
No, King. Wrong again.
Referencing episodes that Roddenberry didn't write/direct, doesn't prove anything.
Lucas has become a sellout. How can you turn you're back on the fans that made you billions. They should'nt go forward anyway they should tell the story of the emperor and Dark Places the wise.
He is no sellout, my sources at home say he is ill. Cannot do anymore. Sold to keep legacy going. I thought same thing over Muppets. Face it, even under Disney and JJ things should go well
Most fans are screaming "Don't let it hit you on the way out" after the episode 1-3 abortion.
After the entire Jar Jar Binks issue...I think the reins can be passed on.
Please do not get Star Trek and Star Wars mixed together. Star Trek is getting hopelessly confused as it is in their storylines.
No, they are not. Maybe you cannot follow
Don't make me Jedi Mind Meld you!!
Yeah...when they completely changed the time-line, thus making all that happened after the first Enterprise mean nothing....