First reported by The Wrap and later confirmed by Entertainment Weekly, it’s official: J.J. Abrams has signed on to direct the next installment of Star Wars that’s coming to the silver screen.
Abrams’ respect and affinity for the Star Wars franchise was apparent during EW’s conversation in November – during which he denied that he had plans to direct future Star Wars films:
As a kid I was always a fan of special effects. Watching movies I was constantly trying to figure out how they did it, whatever the effect was. Star Wars was the first movie that blew my mind in that way; it didn’t matter how they did any of it because it was all so overwhelmingly and entirely great. It was funny and romantic and scary and compelling and the visual effects just served the characters and story. It galvanized for me; not for what was exciting about how movies were made, but rather for what movies were capable of.
While neither Disney nor Lucasfilm have released a statement regarding the arrangement, we’ll bring you the latest news as it continues to develop.
