I'm not the worlds biggest Star Wars fan but I do have an appreciation for the movies. This should be good as Abrams is a fantastic director.

Perhaps now there can be peace between the warring camps of Star Trek fandom and Star Wars fandom. I just wanna see Harry Mudd dealing with Jabba the Hut.

Why not? The story is more important that the direction.

I'm down with this.

JJ Abrams Can do it all

I'm all for movies including those with originality, it's just that what else could they do? Find out that Vader really didn't die, the Sith cloned him or something? With the CN show running they could do whatever they needed to do on there.

I am a Star Wars fan, just wish studios would focus on movies that people would actually want to watch

@StMichalofWilson said:

Those are indeed big shoes to fill, but if Abrams is wiling, I support this decision.

Not really considering the last Star Wars film we were left with....

Nooooooooooo!

You know what would be an awesome idea, but most likely awful in reality and execution? If Episode VII was set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi and they got enough comics, money and drugs ( in that order for the following people respectively) to entice Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer to reprise their roles. And Billy Dee Williams too, why not.

Anyone would be a better director than George Lucas!

@zackattack529: Who are you kidding? JJ Abrams would never ask you to join him.

He is a good director, but I don't want him to fill Star Wars with any of the crap he did on Lost.

I expect it to have an aesthetically intriguing marketing campaign, due to a false sense of vagueness, followed by an excellent trailer that has at least twenty lens flares in under a minute, but not before we are treated to shaky cam and characters who rattle of pseudo-scientific gibberish in an attempt to sound intelligent. 
 
Peter Travers will call it an "adventure of intergalactic proportions!"

While I'm close to positive that Abrams would do a fantastic job (especially after so efficiently channeling the early Spielberg in Super 8), I'm really not into him helming this. It just feels wrong to me... It'd be like some weird media-incest, rebooting both Star Trek and Star Wars - I get that the new films aren't really a reboot but c'mon let's be real.

Okay then. I have good hopes for this now. I just hope he doesn't reboot it like he did with Star Trek.

Because if he does...

I WILL FIND HIM...

Suddenly I have more renewed faith in Episode VII...

has anyone ever directed star wars and star trek? if not then i think this is the guy to do it perfectly.

Two of the greatest SF titles in one man's hands… I should be worried, yet I am not.

@CaioTrubat: It wouldn't be called Episode VII if it were a reboot, obviously.

I have so much faith in Abrams. I think he'll do great

When Episode 7 was announced I immediately thought that JJ Abrams would be a great choice. He's a big Star Wars fan and his directing style (as demonstrated in Star Trek) smacks of that sense of urgency and dramatic pacing which the original trilogy is so well known for. I couldn't be happier!

Can we seriously just stop all this speculation. Abrams didn't say anything and Lucasfilm didn't say anything. I'm incredibly excited about more Star Wars films. But this movie isn't coming out till 2015. If you go onto the official Star Wars site both Lucas and Kennedy said they have only just begun to have writers pitch ideas. Meaning even though Micheal Arndt has been confirmed to write the screenplay he hasn't written anything yet. Directors rarely sign up to do a film until they read the script "unless of course there contractually obligated which Abrams is not" There have been nearly four rumors of directors not including the other rumor of the Zach Snyder Ronin Samurai/Jedi spin off which also turned out to be nothing. I'm not saying Abrams won't be directing Star Wars im just suggesting we wait until we actually know.

Well... okay.

At least it isn't that hack Matt Vaughn.

@BlueLanternBeast:

EXACTLY. HES GOLD- #GOLD

@BlueLanternBeast said:

I have so much faith in Abrams. I think he'll do great

HES FRESH #SUPERFRESH

Elvis

He's done some great stuff so far. Cloverleaf was the weakest, but the concept was an amazing idea. I just don't like actors being able to adlib when they're not that good to begin with. What ever. Super 8 was a fun fun movie, and Star Trek was just great. I'm thinking Kathleen Kennedy must have seen an early screening of Star Trek 2 and really liked it otherwise there is no way he'd get this deal. It's hard to do a good sequel, and with Star Wars its all about sequels. This is good news.

I am infinitely more comfortable with J. J. Abrams as the director as opposed to Zach Snyder. Looking forward to the movie

I REALLY THINK THAT JJ WOULD DO A GOOD JOB.

His Star Trek is really great. He managed to bring that whole "STAR TREK THING" into the 21. C. .

I really loved it.

Elvis

Im not sure about this, i love the new Star Trek movie but i hate Lost, to be fair i didnt think he would be able to do Trek at all and he prove me wrong so going to stay open minded about this until it hits cinema screens. Its a hard one to predict either way, i mean, who would have though the guy behind the original trilogy would have made one as aweful as episode 1?

I think if the writer has been chosen already, then the director of a franchise series isn't honestly going to look very different from the next director. NO, I am not dismissing the importance of the director, I just think in an established franchise and with an already designated screen writer, there isn't much leeway for the director to really apply their 'vision'. In comparison, Paramount wanted an ALL NEW Star Trek and gave Abrams free reign... the writing is done by his known collaborators from Bad Robot. In another example... Harry Potter has had different directors helm various sequels... was there any great variance noticeable in the directing in those films? Possibly pacing and some imagery, but its not a huge difference. In another example, Joss Wheddon had a hand in writing the screenplay for Avengers.

The hate for the prequels wasn't because of the directing (though Lucas did lack a huge connection with the actors that really shows), the hate is really for the awful storytelling. Tell me Abrams also has reign over the script, then I'd be a little bit more excited (not that I'm not optimistic about Arndt, I appreciate ANY new blood injected in the Wars franchise). And yes, I am also aware that directors have uncredited re-writes, but again I point to that more than likely the style of Star Wars won't vary much, like Harry Potter films, rather than something all-new like Star Trek.

Illuminatus!

"I expect it to have an aesthetically intriguing marketing campaign, due to a false sense of vagueness"

LOL... I like Abrams, but man I HATE the fake-mystery ad campaigns he surrounds every other one of his movies with. There's a lot of people who hate Super 8 and Cloverfield because they had wild expectations based on those vague previews. Those expectations cannibalized what were generally some fun and decent movies. How many Trek viewers are going to get on the inter-webs and bitch about ST2 if it turns out Cumberbatch is neither Khan or Gary Mitchell??

@DaltonMunnal: And Star Trek used to be called XI at some point. Just saying...

I've been wondering what it would be like if Abrams directed a fantasy movie instead of a sci-fi movie.

This is great news to me. I really have been thinking about it was anounced thered be more movies, and I couldnt think of anyone better suited than him. I know the Star Trek/Star Wars thing is a little weird, and yes I know many people hated Lost just as much as I loved it, but overall I think they made the right choice if this pans out. Say what you will about him, but he knows how to get people invested into characters and deep storylines like no one else.

I think this will be awesome. J.J. most likely will listen to the hardcore fans of the stories that happen after the movies and adapt them and change them for a current audience. Can I start it Now "If Chewbacca Dies We Riot"

Would explain why Abrahms said he wasnt doing a third Star Trek.

Wife texted me this info whilst I was at the gym yesterday - had to stop myself from laughing at the ensuing furor.

if i had it my way and Abrams was still directing id like it if he worked alongside Guillermo Del Toro. i think Abrams is decent at doing the 'big picture' sort of thing but i love Del toro's sense for the small articulations. Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy 2, and the Hobbit all had great attention to detail, it was the small points that really got me interested in his work

that being said, i dono that Abrams would be my first choice, but then again i dont really know who would be

Looking at what total crap the last three films are no way this is a bad choice. I think even if the scripts are shit JJ can get something watch able out of them.

omg he's the male verzion Saaya Irie! He'll bring peace between Star Wars and Star Trek fans!

Abrams' Star Trek the best Star Wars movie since Empire. This should work out fine.

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

The director of Star Trek is going to direct Star Wars? That is really weird, it's kind of like Dot Cotton turning up in Coronation Street.

Even though I'm not a fan of British soaps I have to agree with this for the relevance of this to the topic and for being a fellow British Viner as well. It is weird seeing the director of Star Trek take on Star Wars too. Then again there are worst directors they could have chosen. Like Michael Bay and M Night Shyamalan. I can feel a chill run down my spine with the mere mention of these abominable directors.

My reaction to this news.

Wow, really didn't see this coming (seeing as he said he wasn't going to do it) Quite excited though, hes a great director and has done a great job with Star Trek.

@Jonny_Anonymous said:

The director of Star Trek is going to direct Star Wars? That is really weird, it's kind of like Dot Cotton turning up in Coronation Street.

Nailed it! My girls all for it but shes a woman so what does she know? (kidding ladies!) I'm weary of Abrams applying his style to SW... I can think of a way better director and call me a fanboy here but Joss Whedon would rock that @#$%!

I was so worried about what they would do to Star Wars with this latest reboot but now I've heard this I feel significantly more confident. Love what Abrams does so I can't wait to see his take on the Star Wars universe!