J.J. Abrams, who has made a name for himself writing, directing and producing such hits as "Lost" and "Star Trek," has been tapped to direct "Star Wars: Episode VII." (Tracey Nearmy / European Pressphoto Agency)
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Abrams made his first foray into television in 1998, co-creating the coming-of-age drama "Felicity," which starred Keri Russell as the title character. The show won a Golden Globe and an Emmy. (The WB)
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Abrams created the Jennifer Garner-starring spy thriller series "Alias," which won four Emmys and a Golden Globe. (Norman Jean Roy / ABC)
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J.J. Abrams on the set of "Mission: Impossible III," the first feature film he directed. The film earned nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office. (Paramount Pictures)
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Director J.J. Abrams and star Tom Cruise on the set of "Mission: Impossible III." (Paramount Pictures)
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Director J.J. Abrams and star Tom Cruise pose atop Shanghai's historic Bund 18 building after wrapping up filming in China for "Mission: Impossible III" on Nov. 30, 2005. (Associated Press)
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Abrams co-created "Lost" with Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof. The suspense-filled show followed a group of people after their plane crashed on an island. The massively popular series became a cultural touchstone, with millions of viewers tuning in for twist after twist. (ABC)
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J.J. Abrams, second from left, poses with the cast members from "Fringe," a sci-fi television series he co-created with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. (Rich Lam / Getty Images)
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J.J. Abrams reveals his first casting for his 2009 reboot of "Star Trek" during a 2007 Comic-Con panel in San Diego. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)
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A scene from Abrams' 2009 film "Star Trek," which raked in more than $385 million worldwide. (Paramount Pictures)
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Steven Spielberg, left, co-produced the 2011 film "Super 8," which J.J. Abrams wrote and directed. The pair are shown here at a 2009 dinner honoring Spielberg in Beverly Hills. (Michael Kovac / WireImage)
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Young actors Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths discuss a scene with director J.J. Abrams on the set of "Super 8." (Paramount Pictures)
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J.J. Abrams, left, and Eric Kripke executive produce the post-apocalyptic adventure series "Revolution." The pair are photographed here at Abrams' company Bad Robot in Santa Monica on Aug. 20, 2012. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Abrams, second from left, shares the stage with "Star Trek Into Darkness" actor Benedict Cumberbatch, star Chris Pine and producer Bryan Burk during a December 2012 press conference for the sequel to their 2009 blockbuster. (Koji Sasahara / Associated Press)
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J.J. Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath are co-chairs of the Children's Defense Fund of California. They're photographed here in December 2012. (Mark Davis / Getty Images)
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J.J. Abrams is photographed in Beverly Hills in June 2011. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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J.J. Abrams is photographed in Beverly Hills in June 2011. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
LinkReaction to Thursday’s news that “Star Trek Into Darkness” filmmaker J.J. Abrams will be directing the next “Star Wars” film has been decidedly mixed.
The seventh installment in the epic franchise is only scheduled to reach theaters in 2015, but speculation about who would helm “Episode VII” has been circulating since October, when the Walt Disney Co. went public with its plans to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced the upcoming “Star Wars” trilogy.
When “Lost” creator and “Star Trek” director Abrams was announced Thursday, “Star Wars” fans took to (where else?) the Internet to voice their approval or displeasure.
Some fans congratulated Abrams on his Facebook page, while others begged him not to drop the ball. A petition titled “Disney: Stop J.J. Abrams from directing the next Star Wars film” appeared on Change.org. And of course, the Twittersphere exploded with wildly divergent but overly enthusiastic responses, with some people claiming that Abrams’ involvement will spell the destruction of their beloved franchise, and others saying the decision heralds a new and glorious era in the universe of Sith, Jedi and blaster-toting princesses.
Here’s a look at some of the more memorable reactions on Twitter.
If J.J. Abrams turns me into a smoke monster in the new Star Wars movie, I'm going to be pissed.—
Darth Vader (@DepressedDarth) January 25, 2013
The Flare is strong with this one.—
Elijah Wood (@woodelijah) January 24, 2013
"Hello JJ? This is the Devil. Please check your inbox. xo-D" #STARWARS #JJABRAMS—
emma caulfield (@emmacaulfield) January 24, 2013
Normally this type of genre bogarting would piss me off. However, I adored JJ's ST reboot, so let the Jedi mind games begin. #JJAbrams—
emma caulfield (@emmacaulfield) January 24, 2013
Surely you have to make it a hat trick, @SimonPegg?—
(@edgarwright) January 24, 2013
No Sam Raimi or David Lynch on Star Wars? No deal.—
rstevens 3.01 (@rstevens) January 25, 2013
Hey, JJ Abrams. You know…you know…—
Zachary Levi (@ZacharyLevi) January 24, 2013
J.J Abrams' name is actually Jar Jar.—
Han Solo (@hansolo) January 25, 2013
Congrats on the Star Wars gig, JJ Abrams. I have a pitch for making the franchise cool again: put Batman in it.—
The Batman (@God_Damn_Batman) January 25, 2013
I'm a huge JJ Abrams fan. I'm bummed out we're not going to get any more Star Trek movies from him. the new one must be amazing—
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) January 24, 2013
If it's REAL, JJ Abrams would NEVER do SDCC again. Every panel would just be "Which SW character could beat which ST character in a fight?"—
Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 24, 2013
This could totally work. Tribbles? Things coughed up by Ewoks. Work with me, people. JJ Abrams Cross-Over!—
Dan Slott (@DanSlott) January 24, 2013
J.J. Abrams to direct new ‘Star Wars’ movie. For some reason this film will also feature Spock's space dentures—
Justin Stangel (@Justin_Stangel) January 25, 2013
Pssst @bad_robot … @feliciaday has a lightsaber & knows how to use it… #StarWars http://t.co/AR2XcrEk—
Bonnie Burton (@bonniegrrl) January 25, 2013
I will believe this JJ Abrams Star Wars VII thing when I can feel the holes in his hands and the wound in his side. #biblestudy—
Faith Erin Hicks (@faitherinhicks) January 24, 2013
With Star Wars settled, now we can all focus on how weird it is that Sam Raimi is directing a sequel to The Wizard of Oz.—
Bill Mudron (@mudron) January 25, 2013
Don't be too proud of these JJ Abrams jokes you've constructed. The ability to destroy a man is insignificant next to the power of the Force—
JonathanHickman (@JHickman) January 24, 2013
To all the grumpy Star Wars snob who hate the franchise ever since Episode One: SEE YOU THEATER for episodeVII because you'll go anyway !—
Mr. Benzaie DANIEL (@Benzaie_tgwtg) January 25, 2013
Abrams also isn’t a nerd, and that’s important. We’re guaranteed to not have a Star Wars movie that feels like SW fanfic (like the prequels)—
Aaron Diaz (@dresdencodak) January 24, 2013
As long as JJ Abrams avoids Severe Blunt Force Trauma to the Head, these new Star Wars Films will be WAY better than the last ones.—
Paul Scheer (@paulscheer) January 24, 2013
“@MPMonroe88: @boborci what does JJ directing SW mean for ST3?” Honestly… No clue.—
roberto orci (@boborci) January 25, 2013
Hey, everybody. What did I miss?—
Damon Lindelof (@DamonLindelof) January 24, 2013
– Noelene Clark
Twitter.com/@NoeleneClark
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I think JJ will bring a breath of fresh air to SW VII…if the script is well written.
JJ did a great Star Trek film. I had wanted Trek to have a rest for awhile, but Abrams proved that it still had life to it yet. I think he will do just fine.
No, he did a passable summer action flick that happened to carry the name Star Trek. If anyone honestly believes that movie was true to Gene Roddenberry's original vision, then I have a DVD of Star Trek: Phase II for sale on eBay. Still, maybe I'm NOT the only one who saw that ST was going the Star Wars route, and it could be the reason they picked him. But I'm not holding my breath. When I first heard about this movie, I was cautiously optimistic. Now, I'm just waiting to see what goes wrong.
after destroying mi3, and ruining startrek for ever, someone thought that this awful, over rated film maker can improve starwars? the next startrek film looks so awful, along with the no talent cast, that the final frontier has been done. say by to starwars, george. it is now a rubble of garbage.
I'm with you, bro. Anyone who doubts should re-watch Armageddon… Worst film ever. I'm guessing nepotism was involved in getting Abrams a director title, and nepotism is what's allowed him to keep it.
You are clearly clueless. Nolan could not be a more inappropriate director for a SW movie – completely different tones. But if you knew anything, you'd know that…
What do you base your disdain on??? Lets see… Abrams name is tied to highly successful movies. That were not only successful, money wise, but with the critics and average movie goers. Yeah, you are the brutally small minority.
if they wanted to change it, they should of given it to nolan. if they wanted hype, a new negative course, quentine tarentino. not looking to 2015.
JJ Abrams to direct SW? How could it possibly be worse than the last 5?
JJ Abrams is the guy who brought us the formulaic and predictable "Super 8," where almost the entire film was a lazy re-assemblage of film cliches and plot devices from Spielberg's and Abrams' prior works. Prediction: Abrams will give the next Star Wars film the same treatment, reassembling Star Wars and sci-fi cliches into another ho-hum film whose sole purpose will be to allow Disney to start squeezing enough dollars from the Star Wars fandom to justify to Wall Street that their $4B purchase of Lucasfilm was the right move.
Please avoid lens flaring the light sabers… Please…
As long as Harrison Ford is O.K. with it; i'll be good with it.
scifi nerds are going to revolt against Lucas and Disney. RIP Trek/Wars
Let JJ do his thing – it probably wont suck, but it wont be much better than anything Lucas produced in recent years. While he's having fun with it though, why not let Christopher Nolan remake the whole series into a darker more moody collection of movies. (Are you listening DISNEY?)
No, because it's not a reboot, it's a sequel. Completely changing the tone of the franchise wouldn't be appropriate.
Yes, it's a mistake. I also think it's a mistake to have Michael Arndt write the script from a George Lucas story. Arndt's sudden fame comes from two movies and one (Toy Story 3) owes certainly more to the people at Pixar than to him. Somehow I don't see this working; we're going to get the same tepidness that was in the prequel.
This also shows the narrow-mindedness of the studios. They can't think of any director to direct a sci-fi epic other than JJ Abrams, and this obviously because of Star Trek. But using the same director to work on the two franchises will inevitably bring an unwanted creative connection between the two. These are two very different universes that should not be handled by the same person.
I did enjoy the Star Trek reboot but like someone else pointed out, Super 8 on the other hand was a very mediocre movie. JJ Abrams isn't such an outstanding director that he would be the obvious choice for a Star Wars movie. Better names that come to mind: Edgar Wright (he knows how to create the chemistry in an ensemble cast and Star Wars needs that), David Fincher (who hasn't had a brilliant script in a long time), Guillermo Del Toro (who has the creative vision), Brad Bird (so does he, I believe), Tom Hooper (I'm quite sure he could do it), Matthew Vaughn (bah, why not), even Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson would be better (I also have a wet dream of a Star Wars trilogy written and directed by the Coen brothers).
besides del toro, none of these directors have handled movies this large/expensive/technically driven.
help us jj abrams…. you're our only hope.
Hey, Abrams, congrats. Remember that in the Star Wars universe they’ve invented COATED lenses. Good luck
Wow, people, lighten up. I am actually looking forward to this next episode, and think the choice of Abrams is pretty cool.
Oh how cool is this! My nephews company who does the Special Effects through Branit VFX (sp) has worked with Bad Robot. Oh did you all get your "Bad Robot" Tee shirts yet? They are pretty sweet. The new Star Trek movie was outstanding. Looking forward to more sequels.
Will pretty interesting to see what he does with Star Wars. Maybe add some Klingons in the mix?
ga ga gah gaaaaaah
polish the bishopppe
I am so happy, the only thing that could realy make my day even better would be to hear that futurama has been renewed …..
I want JJ to match the same heart-racing, pulse-pounding excitement of that first Alias season with the Star Wars universe. The best of A New Hope in tone and lightness with the thrill and darkness of Empire.
I think Abrahms is a great choice, I can't speak much for the writer. I think they could have done better in that area. For those who don't like the choice, at least it wasn't Michael Bay. That was my biggest fear. He's probably the only person worse than Lucas lol.
a better writer than Michael Arndt? Like who? Who on earth is a better screenwriter than Michael Arndt for this kind of project? Maybe Edgar Wright, or Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Idk, I think he's a pretty good match.
I have my doubts about JJ Abrams. Will he follow the script already written, or will he ignore it and rewrite the movie to satisfy himself? I thought the last Star Trek was entertaining but I didn't like how he change the established Star Trek universe and the attempt at campy humor. JJ PLEASE do not bring back Jar Jar or some reincarnated version of him. Save the campy slap stick humor for Star Trek. Do not disappoint Star Wars fans; we are not Star Trek fans. We have a higher standard.
The visual aspect of Star Wara was so appealing because Lucas wasn’t a stellar writer of prose. He compensated with great affect visually. If Abraham’s can infuse acting back into the franchise? Woo, hoo!!!
JJ seems like a good choice, he comes across as the Spielberg of this generation. The character interaction is what made the first three Star Wars so entertaining, Abams has shown he can do this from his other works.
When all of this is said and done, it’ll be just like when Star Trek was rebooted, there will be the typical quartered response: 1) Die-hard fans will accept it, and move on. 2) Die-hard fans will hate it and bitch and moan and defend the original ideas and its prime creator. 3) People who hated the prior franchise find this fresh and exciting, possibly embellishing them to revisit and like the former franchise. 4) People who know of the franchise, but weren’t, at any time in thier life ever interested in the franchise, and NEVER, EVER will be. Some peeps just don’t dig on sci-fly. This will inevitably form a union from those who accepted BOTH reboots of thier beloved franchises. I am on this group, and we are merry. Come on over, we’ve got doughnuts and beer. That is, of course…..until the HATERS of both franchise reboots come together to form a plan……This setting sounds familiar, right? Well guess what people. You’ve just read the plot for Spaceballs 2. You’re welcome.
I will be boycotting this movie. I was 7 when the orginal came out and I grew up a Star Wars kid and remained an adoring fan my entire life…. Star Wars is dead to me now, just like Star Trek. Thanks for nothing JarJar Abrams.
Of course what do you expect with Disney? I imagine you'll all be luck if you don't see Mickey Mouse in a cantina somewhere when this trash comes out.
I've seen the story. A disturbance in the force alters the timeline so the jedi knights were never exterminated, and darth rebuilds the sith in another galaxy.
So how many solar flares will there be? Any guesses?
J.J. Will mend the bridges of the Star Wars vs Star Trek camp! Taking a little dramatic licence, J.J. could send the gallant crew of the new enterprise to a galaxy far far away to become entangled in the politics of the new republic, and wind up assisting the jedi. as well as helping the new republic fight the imperial remnant! Both camps will live long and prosper, and be one with force!!!!
Hmm… All J.J. needs do now is hijack Serenity and produce a ST/SW/Firefly fusion film. Box office extravaganza, breaking all opening weekend records forever!