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JJ Abrams set to direct New Star Wars Film

Walt Disney World: While it's not 100% directly related to theme parks.....it is still a big Disney franchise that's sure to make a bigger splash in the parks!

From Jay R.
Posted January 24, 2013 at 7:41 PM
From the Hollywood Reporter:

Sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that the Star Trek director is negotiating to direct Episode VII, the next installment in the fabled franchise.

Disney, which purchased George Lucas' Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, is fast-tracking a new Star Wars film for release in 2015. Abrams, who directed the recent Star Trek reboot and its upcoming sequel, said in October that he wasn't interested in taking on Star Wars. But the director is said to have changed his mind about the project.

More to come.


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From James Rao
Posted January 25, 2013 at 4:03 AM
Changed his mind, huh? A little bit of $$$ may have helped. It is nice to have deep coffers isn't it, Mr. Iger?

Abrams is a busy man, but fans could not have hoped for a better choice. The Force is definitely with Disney! ;)

From patrick moore
Posted January 25, 2013 at 5:35 AM
is there a release date yet

From Dominick D
Posted January 25, 2013 at 7:52 AM
Thank God it's a good director. I've liked pretty much everything he's done so this is great!

From Mark Fairleigh
Posted January 25, 2013 at 8:18 AM
Great news! Did a fantastic job with resurrecting Star Trek...confident he'll do the same for Star Wars.

I've read that story ideas will be totally original and will not borrow from any existing post-classic-trilogy material i.e., Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy.

From Dan Babbitt
Posted January 25, 2013 at 12:56 PM
Im estatic about this being a huge Star Wars fan. I hope they dont mess with the continuity of the novels and the new films.

From Phil B.
Posted January 25, 2013 at 1:15 PM
Cue the lens flair

From Jay R.
Posted January 25, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Patrick,

It's scheduled for a release in 2015.

So far, with the selection of JJ, things are headed in the right direction!

From Terry O'Neal
Posted January 26, 2013 at 9:38 AM
Star Wars fans have Star Trek fans to thank for this. While it's possible that Mission Impossible 3 is the film that got Iger's attention, I doubt without the Trek reboot he would have gotten this job.

From Andy Milito
Posted January 26, 2013 at 9:42 AM
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YES!

Abrams is one of my favorite directors right now, and we all know he can handle sci-fi, action, and character driven stories wonderfully. And with Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), Lawrence Kasdan (Emprie Strikes Back), and Simon Kinberg (Sherlock Holmes) doing the script, things couldn't look better for Star Wars 7.

From Phil B.
Posted January 26, 2013 at 10:18 AM
I actually like Abrams a lot. He's a student of the Spieberg style of movie making, which is why you end up with lots of lens flare and blue washed set lighting. Nothing he's done has really hit the mark as far as recreating the early Spielberg 70's-80's era movies though. He tried with Super 8, and although it had it's moments, it seemed to be lacking in true heart. Also, his shows are fantastic and have a really high production value, especially for the pilot episodes, but things can become ambiguous as plots unfold which can get frustrating. All that said, I'm happy to see him in the fold. The man is a true geek and fan of the Star Wars universe, which is what I was really hoping for, much in the way that Dave Filoni, who directs the very well done Clone Wars show is. Somebody who loves, respects and gets the material is exactly what this film needed. Allowing JJ to play in this sandbox could be the material that finally brings out everything he's learned all these years and allows him to really hit his stride. He's a top choice, and the closest you will get to seeing Spielberg helm a Star Wars film without The Beard actually stepping up to the plate.

From TH Creative
Posted January 27, 2013 at 8:40 AM
Disney is really trumpeting its ownership of the franchise. Looking forward to additional DHS attractions some time soon.

From Daniel Etcheberry
Posted January 27, 2013 at 10:06 AM
I don't find JJ Abrams to be a good director; MI3's action scenes were badly shot and edited; Super 8 was unoriginal --every shot was a copy of earlier Spielberg filmmaking--; I'm not a fan of Star Trek, so I got bored --the latter is not his fault of course.

Mel Brooks should direct....oh wait, he already did it ;^)

From Russell Meyer
Posted January 30, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Well, I'm a little on the fence with this one...When people were first bantering around ideas for a new Star Wars director, JJ's name came up, and my initial reaction was, "Perfect!" However, now that I think about it, I'm disappointed that Disney wasn't more daring with their choice.

Don't get me wrong, because I think JJ will do an amazing job with the series, but I think there are many other budding directors that could have taken the franchise to new heights. JJ was easily the "safe" choice. My money was on Neill Blomkamp (District 9), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), or Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men). Disney had to protct their investment, and probably couldn't risk going with a lesser known quantity or someone that would take their time and need complete creative control.

Ultimately, I think JJ will direct the first, and then turn the directorial duties over to the other guys at Bad Robot (Kurtzman/Orci, Drew Goddard, Damon Lindeloff, and Carlton Cuse) and just EP on the rest. There's nothing wrong with that, I just would have preferred that one of the other directors that would be willing to devote a decade of their career to the franchise was chosen. JJ's just not going to do that.

From Phil B.
Posted January 30, 2013 at 4:07 PM
Ben Afflek will direct Episode 8. Neill Blomkamp Episode 9. Be sure to tip your waitress on the way out.

From Manny Rodriguez
Posted February 5, 2013 at 9:39 AM
Oh God.. I Can Only imagine WATCH OUT JAR JARS ON THE LOOSE!!!! Camera drop* Camera Pick up* AAAH Dizzy Motions* great just what i wanted :(

From Dominick D
Posted February 5, 2013 at 11:29 AM
Manny, that won't happen.

From Manny Rodriguez
Posted February 5, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Dom Personally That was a Joke but i do have my doubts on JJ Having a part of one of my Fav Sci Fi movies ever

From Jay R.
Posted February 5, 2013 at 3:39 PM
Manny, I think JJ will do fine.

If you aren't a fan, then obviously you'd have reservations, but I think from a general standpoint by going with a director who's had critical & commercial success in the sci fi / fantasy genre, that's a BIG step in the right direction.

And I'm sure some of the "JJisms" may be toned down,
obviously they'll want to make sure the look & feel of them film isn't too similar to his other work.

So there might be a little less lens flare than folks might be expecting :)

From Jay R.
Posted February 5, 2013 at 4:39 PM
And then there's this:

Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of Disney, confirmed in an interview with CNBC's Julia Boorstin speculation that the company is working on stand-alone feature films based on beloved characters from George Lucas' Star Wars universe.

These movies will not be part of the new trilogy announced last fall when Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Last month, Star Trek director J.J. Abrams was named director of the new Star Wars: Episode VII, which will kick off the next three movies in the saga and is tentatively scheduled for release in 2015.

In addition to consulting on Episode VII, Lawrence Kasdan (screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) and Simon Kinberg "are both working on films derived from great Star Wars characters that are not part of the overall saga," Iger said in the CNBC interview. "We still plan to make Star Wars 7, 8 and 9 roughly over a six-year period of time starting in 2015 but (there) are going to be a few other films released in that period of time, too."

From Andy Milito
Posted February 6, 2013 at 6:41 PM
Oh my word, I'm SICK of the "herp derp LENS FLARE!" nonsense. It wasn't funny in 2009. It isn't funny now. My gosh!

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