The 'Star Trek' helmer admits he 'declined any involvement very early on' because he's a big fan of 'Star Wars'.
- Dec 26, 2012
AceShowbiz - J.J. Abrams was one of the names who emerged as potential directors for "Star Wars Episode 7". He, however, has ruled out the possibility of him doing the new installment of the successful film franchise and revealed the reason why.
"There were the very early conversations," he tells Empire Magazine (as quoted by Comic Book Movie), confirming that he was offered to direct the upcoming "Star Wars" movie. "...and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to 'Star Trek'."
He further explains, "...and also just being a fan, I wouldn't even want to be involved in the next version of those things. I declined any involvement very early on. I'd rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them."
When presented with an idea that the next installment of "Star Trek" film could face off one of the new "Star Wars" movies, Abrams responds, "I guess the franchises could go up against each other, but I'm not thinking that far ahead."
He adds, "I'm a huge fan of 'Star Wars', Empire and Jedi, and the idea of the world continuing is exciting and will be amazing. Kathy Kennedy is a friend and there are no smarter producers. It's in great hands."
Abrams isn't the only notable filmmaker who removes himself from the shortlist of possible "Star Wars Episode 7" helmers. Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and Zack Snyder previously stated that they're not interested to do the project.
"It's not my genre. It's my best friend George [Lucas]'s genre," so the "Lincoln" director, Spielberg, reasoned. "Django Unchained" helmer Tarantino said, "No, sorry. Especially if Disney's going to do it. I'm not interested in the Simon West version of Star Wars."
Meanwhile, Snyder whose latest projects include "Man of Steel" admitted, "I'm a huge 'Star Wars' fanatic. I just think doing [episodes] seven, eight and nine is just a slippery slope. It's a whole other mythological experiment I'm excited to see, but it's a lot of effort."
"Star Wars Episode 7" has tapped Michael Ardnt to provide the script, but still hasn't found a director. It's expected to come out in 2015 and words are, the story will take place after the events in "Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of Jedi".
