Star Wars Episode VII…
J.J. Abrams.
Multiple outlets are reporting that Abrams will be directing the next chapter of the saga, and The Wrap and Deadline say he beat out Ben Affleck for the honor. So… there you go.
Now, fans, is he the one you trust to take the franchise in the right direction? You’ve seen his work, you saw what he did with Star Trek… and, come to think about it, if he’s directing Star Wars, he won’t have time for a third Star Trek, will he? Discuss this and more in the comments below.
Couldn’t be any worse then the prequels so think about that, they already ruined Star Wars long ago by making it “family friendly”
I think it’s pretty brave of him to take this on. There’s already a fan base that’s secretly hoping he will fail. Because let’s face it, some nerds just love bashing lens flares more than enjoying a good story. He’s drawing a huge virtual target on himself and diving head first into a metaphorical sarlacc. The man has never disappointed me with his storytelling. I don’t think he’ll start now.
J.J. is my hero! He did a great job with Star Trek. I trust him with Star Wars.
It can’t get worse than the prequels, can it?
I’m sure this means he’ll be giving up Star Trek. Disney must have flashed him a lot of money for this gig.
Hopefully they get someone good for Star Trek 3 onwards (and hopefully we can get a new TV Show at some point).
JJ would do a good job but I was hoping for a different direction. If you look at the best films, one name comes to mind for me. Sam Raimi. He’s got the melodrama, he’s got the genre cred, he’s willing to go to that nerdy place that doesn’t have to be dark and gritty.
1970s science fiction was full of an abundance of optimism and altruism and that’s what resonates with people after all these years. JJ does a wonderful job finding the intense personal moments in a story but all his characters have a darker side that I don’t know if I would like that.
I can’t wait to be proven wrong though…
Abrams or Affleck would both do a good job, but personally I was hoping for Joss Whedon.
Then again, Woody Allen would certainly make an… interesting… Star Wars movie.
He makes great movies,
but I can’t imagine star wars with lens flare.
I really hope this isn’t true for a few reasons:
A) He’s already making Star Trek. Make more of those!
B) I’m VERY afraid he will bring back midochlorians.
C) I don’t want there to be an alternate universe (is there anything he’s done where there wasn’t?)
Err, “last Episode into 2 parts” i mean.
Do we really want another ‘Phantom Menace’?
I’ll bet your “average” movie-goer thought it was pretty good. I say average with a big emphasis on it, because I’m not speaking of true fans of the Star Wars universe.
Anyway, it made decent money when it was released didn’t it?
But, how many more people would buy an even newer digitally remastered Ep. IV with 10sec. of bonus fotage?
Can you say the same if it were 10sec. extra on a new “Phantom Menace” re-release?
My point is if they sacrifice even a part of the core of what makes Star Wars so special to true fans it’ll never have the staying power and re-watchability that the original trilogy does.
I can only hope that he doesn’t make the mistake of throwing in a bunch a ol’ splosions, in place of a “Real” story. With well rounded characters that we can all believe belong and are worthy of our time and money to be part of that great big galaxy of wonder that Lucas left us with.
Wouldn’t suprise me even a little bit though, if they didn’t decide to go all ‘Harry Potter’ and split the last chapter into 2 parts.
I say no Favreau… not yet. Why? Because they need him to direct the Boba Fett movie. XD
At the very least, Abrams seems sobered by the weight of his fandom, and doesn’t seem to have the intention of just exploit it in whatever way he wants. Thing is, he’s gonna be checking himself a lot to make sure he’s making the right choices, which is what the audience THINKS they want… but, one might not realize one crucial thing: that can totally ruin the visceral gut-based spirit of something. Really, I defy anyone to make a great movie with the barbarians at the gates, as many jilted Star Wars fans tend to be.
Anyway, does anyone really HATE Abrams’ movies, or are they just hipster-mad because he has irons in lots of fires?
To me, he makes movies that are almost impossible to despise. Sure, maybe you’re luke-warm about them, but the general populace seems to “like them OK.” And I think that’s the kind of film the franchise needs… it’s not the film the franchise deserves, but it’s the film the franchise needs, if only to suppress the ingrates’ refrain of “George Lucas raped my childhood.”
I’m confused, I thought he already said no twice. Personally, I’d rather Singer or Favreau, or some fresh blood direct this movie. I loved Star Trek, but Abram’s works all have the same kind of feel to them, and we already have Star Trek from him, we don’t need that same thing modified with lightsabers and Jedi.
I’d rather he stick to Star Trek. One giant Sci-Fi movie franchise is enough, right?
I am typically a fan of Abram’s work but I wish their was more than one creative mind redefining the content that made us all nerdy as kids.
I was hoping for Woody Allen to get this directing gig.
I think JJ did a great job with Trek, and he could do the same with Star Wars. As a fan of both the movies and the expanded universe(books), my hope is that the story not only fits the established timeline but recaptures the feel of the original three. Plus, JJ has shown he doesn’t have to use the original actors to make a great movie. (I know, he used Nimoy, but didn’t feel the need for Shatner) As much flack as Lucas has taken, at least in the books he kept the timeline in order and all the writers had to follow it. There are some great stories in the books that could become great movies.
I think it will be entertaining but have too many lens flares.
I’ve said it on another thread, and I’ll say it here:
If you think lens flares make or break a movie, then you’re one of two things: (1) autistic, or (2) a joyless sack of human waste whose opinion isn’t worth this comment.
If you’re the former, that’s totally fine… I completely understand your concern. But if you’re the latter, watch out, because I will find you, and I will set your whole family on fire with a lens flare.
Until it is “officially” published by the Walt Disney Co, I won’t believe the hype (& by that? I’m not disrespecting JJ Abrams, I just don’t see Paramount allowing him to jump ship to another Franchise that would compete with their Star Trek this quickly without some financial / legal penalty that the cheap arse Walt Disney Co would want to spend the $ dealing with) ….
Personally? I felt Kenneth Branagh did a top notch job on THOR & would make an interesting choice to direct Star Wars VII ….
This was not the director I was looking for.
John Woo!
Well, the Star Trek reboot played out more like a “Star Wars movie” than a “Star Trek movie” and was pretty damn entertaining if I remember right. Plus, Abrams has said he’s always been a Star Wars fan and wasn’t much of a Star Trek fan as a kid which made it easier directing Star Trek. If he’s truly up to the challenge, then I imagine he’ll really reexamine his approach and possibly push his boundaries as a director, which would be nice to see. All in all, I think this sounds promising, and for all the people bemoaning it, remember: NOTHING will ever touch the original trilogy, the goal here is to make an entertaining and exciting Star Wars film that takes us somewhere new, and that hasn’t been done since 1983, so the bar’s pretty fucking low to begin with! Anything that get’s this franchise even remotely back on track will be hailed. At least we know the acting won’t be so damn embarrassing with Abrams at the helm, BUT PLEASE NO FRANCHISE CROSSOVERS!
My inner child just died.
Best. News. Ever!
Granted, I would have loved to have seen Affleck’s Star Wars but with more movies coming down the line, Affleck can always be involved later.
Who is going to write it? That’s kind of the determining factor with JJ Abrams, I mean it’ll probably be a great looking movie, but he doesn’t really have the content chops that Ben Affleck.
Honestly, this is a good choice I have no doubt. His movies are eminently watchable, memorable and just plain fun.
In this case, I think the writing will tell the tale. Will it have sufficient scope? Will we leave behind the ins and outs of trade regulations and parlamentary maneuvering? Will the characters actually be interesting to root for and against? These questions I do have.
Abrams already declined Star Wars since he has Star Trek..where is this info coming from?
Well, Star Trek kicked ass…it really, really did. And the only reason I wouldn’t want to see him direct Star Wars is not that I don’t think he would do it justice because I think he would…but handing over a third Trek to a new director gives me terrifying visions of X-Men: The Last Stand and the departure of Bryan Singer. And I would hate to see the new Trek movies suffer. But if it comes to pass, I’ll see it. J.J. Abrams is fantastic!
Imagine the lens flairs he will get off a lightsaber.
NO. I would want Brad Bird to direct the new Star Wars. He directed the best action movie that I have seen in years… I’m not talking about Mission Impossible 4, I’m talking about the Incredibles. It had heart and humor… that’s just my opinion.
I’m an Abrams fan, but it is weird that the same guy directing star trek would be directing star wars… As long as there is no time travel I’ll be ok with it.
During an interview he said he was a Star Trek fan and would not take on directing Star Wars…WTF.
I want the fucking lens flare comments to cease.
I’d rather have Ben Affleck. Abrams has Star Trek already. Let somebody else take on the sci-fi genre. And Affleck has been directing some phenomenal films lately.
Yoda say WHUT? I hope he is NOT directing Star Wars.
I just think what he would do is take it outside of what would make it great by injecting his own gimmicky stuff to it.
Gah, NO.