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Abrams turns down Episode VII

December 27th, 2012 by bash 4 Comments

JJ Abrams has revealed that he turned down the chance to direct the next Star Wars movie.

The writer-director-producer told Empire magazine that while he met with new series producer Kathleen Kennedy about involvement in Star Wars: Episode VII, he decided against getting onboard.

“There were the very early conversations, and I quickly said that, because of my loyalty to Star Trek and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things,” he said. “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.”

Abrams has said that while he grew up a major Star Wars fan, he was not particularly in love with Star Trek, which made it easier to reboot the saga.

Was Abrams right in declining the opportunity to direct the next Star Wars film? As ever, let us know.

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Hi all. I'm Bash, I'm 33, and I became a nerd when I first saw Star Wars as a child. Although I've watched hundreds of movies, read dozens of books and played numerous computer games since, nothing has come close to seeing George Lucas' epic for the very first time. At Following the Nerd, I'm Marc's right hand man and can be heard every Thursday trying to be funny on our radio show. I hope you all like the site and come back often.

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  • Anonymous

    So irresponsible… yes I know that every ass hole with a blog is running this story but come on… Being in “early conversations” is NOT being OFFERED the opportunity to direct the new Star Wars films. This is a multi BILLION dollar franchise you don’t think they’re in “early conversations” with every director they think might be capable to make the next trilogy great? Irresponsible reporting like this is why we have to read stupid shit like how Joseph Gordon-Levitt is going to be the next Batman on countless sites across the net.

    • Anonymous

      To be fair, there is no doubt that Abrams would have been on of the top choices for Lucasfilm/Disney given his well-known fandom and it seems like a natural fit.
      And he said himself that he told Kennedy that he wasn’t interested, so there is truth to what we’ve written. We would never create or fabricate a story.
      We’re sorry you feel so angry about this JR, but can I remind you that stories like this are what feeds fandom and speculation? I know as a fan I like to talk about what will be or could be in my favourite movies, comics etc. This is a site for fans and we’ll keep firing the imaginations of the people that love and are passionate. It’s what we do (and don’t totally rule out Levitt as Batman, it would be terrible, but the evidence points toward it…).
      Hope this finds you a little calmer, brother.
      Marc Savage, Head Nerd

      • Anonymous

        I understand your site has to discuss things like this, hell it’s why I visit your site daily. Your site hasn’t gone as far as others that I’ve seen who have said that he “officially declined” an offer but regardless “early conversations” are a far cry from an actual offer.

        • Anonymous

          but it says in the copy ‘turned down a chance’ to direct lol. I get it JR, I know where you’re coming from. I shall beat Bash for his sensationalism and send him to work for the Weekly World News instead :) Marc

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