Lucasfilm Officially Confirms That J.J. Abrams Will Direct the Next Star Wars Movie

[Particle]

Let me be the first to valiantly rush in and proclaim that they liked both the prequels and original movies despite being old enough to have experienced the original movies first.

[himaro]

i'm in two minds for this
Disney have the money to splash out on star wars and fund the creativity it deserves.
but i like the original star wars to much and the prequels were 'okay'.
I get the feeling they're stoking a train that reached the end of the line years ago.

i want to be proven wrong and the film be epic though

[Cuthalu]

The dark side is Gene Roddenberry would roll over in his grave if he saw what he did to Star Trek.

This. Roddenberry was a true visionary with a message - contrary to a certain Jobs - and Abrams throw all of that out from Star Trek. The movie wasn't bad per se, but it didn't deserve the name of Star Trek. But luckily Star Wars is a different kind of story, so he can't possibly make the same sin again.

[vohu manah]

Forget Thrawn...

Make Dark Empire instead, or if needed, make both.

Oh, and I have great hopes for SW now. The latest ST was the best of all of the movies, and episode 1-3 of SW were far better than 4-6.

Don't get me wrong, 4 trough 6 were great for their time, legendary even, but seen with new eyes today they are pretty much 'Muppet-show-in-space'. Really badly written, bad acting you name it. Not that the prequels are any monuments themselves, or really good, just way better than the old ones.

Dunno if its nostalgia, peer preasure or whatever... But people look insane to me, for praising the old SW trilogy while looking down upon the new ones. Any argument against the prequels are so much stronger against the originals.

[MattiasNYC]

Forget Thrawn...

Make Dark Empire instead, or if needed, make both.

I'd read "Dark Empire" if I wasn't so disappointed by the recent output.

episode 1-3 of SW were far better than 4-6.

Don't get me wrong, 4 trough 6 were great for their time, legendary even, but seen with new eyes today they are pretty much 'Muppet-show-in-space'. Really badly written, bad acting you name it. Not that the prequels are any monuments themselves, or really good, just way better than the old ones.

Dunno if its nostalgia, peer preasure or whatever... But people look insane to me, for praising the old SW trilogy while looking down upon the new ones. Any argument against the prequels are so much stronger against the originals.

As far as I'm concerned there are only a few points on which the prequels 'best' the originals;

- Arguably art design. There's more, and it's arguably beautifully done.
- Arguably costume design and manufacture.
- Definitely VisualFX. I don't think that's even debatable.
- Ditto for Dialog Recording / Editing and Sound Restoration

For all else it's a 'win' for the originals. Just look at the first review by redlettermedia. Yeah, it's annoying for some to listen to his voice, and yeah, there are probably one or two points he has that are wrong, but in my opinion the vast majority of points are correct. And that really does mean the prequels pale in comparison to the originals.

The story was clearer and better, better character development all around, better score, better build up of tension and release etc. I also think you can spot some reasons for it if you watch the extras and behind the scenes on the prequel DVD sets.

[saint-francis]

This pisses me off more than when the cops pulled me over and impounded my car due to a RMV error!

JUMP......THE.... SHARK!


Star Wars was a fantastic contribution to humanity. This on the heels of the last three movies looks like any decent consciousness bearing system is scheduled for a thorough raping in the not so distant future.

[madcho]

i love JJ Abrams' work.

I like so much his work on FRINGE, that was amazing sci-fi work. A lot of suspension. Crazy things evrywhere but with a real meaning. Best ever end of TV series !!! Best scripts ever, Best story ever ..., amazing budget in special effects.

If you like sci-fi, this is the best work you can ever watch.

Super 8 was for kids ( i'm sad because i wasn't one :/ ) , Lost was a shame, especially at the end. Reboot of star strek was nice.

and i would love to see him on half life movie

[Kallenator]

Oh, and I have great hopes for SW now. The latest ST was the best of all of the movies, and episode 1-3 of SW were far better than 4-6.

Don't get me wrong, 4 trough 6 were great for their time, legendary even, but seen with new eyes today they are pretty much 'Muppet-show-in-space'. Really badly written, bad acting you name it. Not that the prequels are any monuments themselves, or really good, just way better than the old ones.

Dunno if its nostalgia, peer preasure or whatever... But people look insane to me, for praising the old SW trilogy while looking down upon the new ones. Any argument against the prequels are so much stronger against the originals.

No, just plain no.

I have watched all of Star Wars movies since I was young, hell I was still young when Ep 1 came out, even 2. Given my age, I was not critical and had not really watched a broad spectrum of movies like today. So I did not see anything particularly wrong with them. Point being that even Ep 1 is technically a bit nostalgic to me... to underline that my first MSN email actually has Jarjarbings in it, and that was not sarcastic. It's only later I realize what a silly kid I was.
Since I have seen 1-6 several times, last year all of them on Blu-Ray within a short time frame. And the one that holds up without a shadow of doubt is Ep 4. It has this similar to 2001: Space odyssey Sci-fi-"quality" to it that just does not tarnish with time!

The last Star Trek is very entertaining and it is a proper good movie, gave it 8/10, best of the Star Trek movies though? Nah. It's just new and shiny, but lacks some of the old Star Trek quirkiness. If you go back and watch the rest of the movies, you don't think "ugh whats this?". I even tried, Star Trek 2 - Wrath of Kahn is proper good, Star Trek 4 is excellent light entertainment for anyone. - Just to name a few of them.

Other old movies that holds peoples "Nostalgia" like the first Indiana Jones, I don't think as highly of, there is just something bland about it. The Last Crusade however, now that is proper Indiana Jones.

Or let's pick at Riddley Scott's Alien 1 vs Prometheus. The biggest reason for why Prometheus is not a flop is because it looks absolutely amazing, but the scenes don't make sense because of the weird actions of each and every character. If you have seen it, you might for example remember the cringe worthy dialog between Charlize Theron and the Captain that leads to them having sex. Alien has it's faults as well which sets it no higher than Prometheus.
Now take these two and compare them to Blade Runner, it's in an entirely different league, I don't remember which of the cuts I like at the moment, not the original one, but I remember that most of the cheesy bits where taken away.

So I don't buy this Nostalgia argument, it only works for people who watch very few movies, which does not represent a large demographic between ages 13-30.

On the topic, even though I do like J.J. Abrams and his work, this video brought up something to me that I really did not consider. It's worth watching, he has a very good point. =)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...e-In-The-Force

[kromosto]

Dunno if its nostalgia, peer preasure or whatever... But people look insane to me, for praising the old SW trilogy while looking down upon the new ones. Any argument against the prequels are so much stronger against the originals.

just opposite for me

i am willing to see thrawn triology and of course James Luceno's books as movies especially darth plagueis and labyrinth of evil.

[Cuthalu]

Since I have seen 1-6 several times, last year all of them on Blu-Ray within a short time frame. And the one that holds up without a shadow of doubt is Ep 4.

Interesting. I have as well watched all the 6 episodes in a 2 day marathon and episodes 1 and 4 were clearly the worst of the bunch. Although ep 4 deserves credit for its pioneering work. Episodes 3 and 5 are the two best in my opinion while 2 might be a bit worse than 6. Overall I enjoyed very much the continuity and overall progression from ep 1 to 3 in mood and style - it is more of a trilogy than the original was. Ep 1 was worst in itself, but it did lay the groundwork for the rest 5 episodes and provided stark contrast for ep 2 and 3. To me it seems that all traditional fans got extremely butthurt after the letdown of ep 1 and lost all objectivity after that. However I as well would've liked to see Jar Jar gone after the first episode.

If you like sci-fi, this is the best work you can ever watch.

I disagree. While it is a very good series, it's not one of the legendary ones with all of the beloved scifi-traits. On the other hand, STOS, STTNG, Babylon 5 and perhaps SG-1 are pure sci-fi gold.

[Kallenator]

Interesting. I have as well watched all the 6 episodes in a 2 day marathon and episodes 1 and 4 were clearly the worst of the bunch. Although ep 4 deserves credit for its pioneering work. Episodes 3 and 5 are the two best in my opinion while 2 might be a bit worse than 6. Overall I enjoyed very much the continuity and overall progression from ep 1 to 3 in mood and style - it is more of a trilogy than the original was. Ep 1 was worst in itself, but it did lay the groundwork for the rest 5 episodes and provided stark contrast for ep 2 and 3. To me it seems that all traditional fans got extremely butthurt after the letdown of ep 1 and lost all objectivity after that. However I as well would've liked to see Jar Jar gone after the first episode.

Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor are so terribly directed in Ep.3 that it's painful to watch, there is just too much of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SqTR0DorSw

The first action sequence is nice though, over Coruscant. And lightsaber choreography is not shabby either, even though they overdo it, but then again what else do they have to show?

Not sure on 5, and its rating, it's before the digitally remastered 6, thats for sure. The new CGI scenes look sheit and Ewoks are silly, on top they replaced old Vader-Ghost with Hayden-Ghost.
I think I enjoy 5 about just as much as 4.

[MattiasNYC]

On the topic, even though I do like J.J. Abrams and his work, this video brought up something to me that I really did not consider. It's worth watching, he has a very good point. =)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...e-In-The-Force

I agree with this guy.

[MattiasNYC]

Interesting. I have as well watched all the 6 episodes in a 2 day marathon and episodes 1 and 4 were clearly the worst of the bunch. Although ep 4 deserves credit for its pioneering work. Episodes 3 and 5 are the two best in my opinion while 2 might be a bit worse than 6. Overall I enjoyed very much the continuity and overall progression from ep 1 to 3 in mood and style - it is more of a trilogy than the original was. Ep 1 was worst in itself, but it did lay the groundwork for the rest 5 episodes and provided stark contrast for ep 2 and 3. To me it seems that all traditional fans got extremely butthurt after the letdown of ep 1 and lost all objectivity after that. However I as well would've liked to see Jar Jar gone after the first episode.

I'd have to disagree with your disagreement. To me it seems as if many like 3 and 5 because they're dark, and I don't disagree at all that that is attractive. However, there's a fairly big difference in that ep5 contains first of all one of the greatest reveals of all time, followed by one of the greatest cliffhangers of all time. Luke's father is revealed, he himself is injured and Han is taken away. Ep3 does nothing of the sort. Fine, it goes without saying that you couldn't have the same surprises, but it still contains "less story". In addition, while visually stunning in terms of execution, two action sequences bothered me.

First the opening. It's really packed visually, but as was pointed out by redlettermedia a lot of action in the prequels just falls in the "why should I care" category. Why should we care? They're trying to capture whom why? The humor is poor 3 stooges-esque slapstic carried out by droids and has no place in such a film in my opinion. The Jedis in the prequels keep being superhuman and display virtually no stress, anxiety or worry over completing their mission, so how can we care? And even if this was an all out success, what does that do to the rest of the film? How many successful films start with their highpoint and taper down from there?

That leads to the finish which then needed to be epic and at least balance the opening sequence. And it could have been. But the insanely outlandish sequence of the lightsaber fight on top of things floating and hovering over a lava stream is just sooooo ridiculous it took me right out of it. The very end of that fight was "rewarding" in my opinion, but an exception. And the damn cutting back and forth between different action "stories" was much better executed in Ep4 I think.

I think 4 ultimately was better because it was first of all a self-contained film that made sense. If none of the other films had been made afterwards we'd still have a complete film. Good against evil where good wins. Bad guy is "dealt with". Boy goes through rite of passage by leaving home and family and becoming a man. The friendship angle with Luke and Han. Comedy that wasn't entirely slapstick nonsense. Fantastic music. And anybody I know that likes Star Wars cared about Luke, Leia and Han. Because they all had personality. Do I care about Anakin? Not really. How about Padme? What's she like? Does she like to laugh? Sense of humor? I don't know. Don't care about her either. Obi-Wan in the prequels? Totally bland. Don't care. Yoda? Cared more when he was made of rubber. Etc.

So I still totally disagree.

[madcho]

Interesting. I have as well watched all the 6 episodes in a 2 day marathon and episodes 1 and 4 were clearly the worst of the bunch. Although ep 4 deserves credit for its pioneering work. Episodes 3 and 5 are the two best in my opinion while 2 might be a bit worse than 6. Overall I enjoyed very much the continuity and overall progression from ep 1 to 3 in mood and style - it is more of a trilogy than the original was. Ep 1 was worst in itself, but it did lay the groundwork for the rest 5 episodes and provided stark contrast for ep 2 and 3. To me it seems that all traditional fans got extremely butthurt after the letdown of ep 1 and lost all objectivity after that. However I as well would've liked to see Jar Jar gone after the first episode.


I disagree. While it is a very good series, it's not one of the legendary ones with all of the beloved scifi-traits. On the other hand, STOS, STTNG, Babylon 5 and perhaps SG-1 are pure sci-fi gold.

i disagree, SG-1 was nice at start, but the end is only, i don't know what to create more, and come more and more bad scripts, with no new ideas.

and i don't know babylon 5 yet.

[Locke]

J.J. Abrams I just puked in my mouth.

I have to agree. The Star Trek movie was crap... more plot holes then a sieve. Star Wars is already on the brink with plot holes to endanger its credibility... some say it's already gone, but JJ might pile drive it into oblivion.

[Kallenator]

I have to agree. The Star Trek movie was crap... more plot holes then a sieve. Star Wars is already on the brink with plot holes to endanger its credibility... some say it's already gone, but JJ might pile drive it into oblivion.

While I adore peoples brains when it comes to notice plot holes of all magnitude, I am not entirely sure that I would put too much weight on it, unless you feel like it insults your intelligence.
Take another movie in a completely different genre that at least according to IMDB seems to have been enjoyed just as much, "Casino Royale". It's similar in it's presence by being a franchise restart, and by trying something new. Now, why on earth would they play poker against Le Chiffre instead of arresting him on the already valid charges? I guess we would not be able to see Eva Green partially naked, but then, plothole-ignorance can truly be bliss.

My point in an entertaining video, How Casino Royale should have ended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byku-4Sl4zE

Part of your point, How Star Trek should have ended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotat...&v=WbJ-y6BWfUc

Bottom line for me about this, I don't think the Star Trek XI is inherently worse or better than any of the older movies, so I am not going to say that J.J. did a bad job. Even counting the plotholes, as I am sure there are some of in the past as well.

[phantomferrari]

I have to agree. The Star Trek movie was crap... more plot holes then a sieve. Star Wars is already on the brink with plot holes to endanger its credibility... some say it's already gone, but JJ might pile drive it into oblivion.

You cant really blame the director too much for plots holes. That lies more with the writers. I think Abrams is a good director. I thought the Star Trek movie was ok, but I can understand why people might not like it. However, we cant discredit a director completely over it. What did everyone think of Abrams Super 8? I thought it was great. Do we know who the writer for the Star Wars movie will be? Last rumor I heard it was the writer for Toy Story 3

[Aberration]

I hope for the best , its nice to see Star Wars alive again to be honest , i never thought this would happened , let's see what they come up with .

It happened because the young kids who saw the 'crappy' prequels grew up. People can hate them all you want, it worked.

[MattiasNYC]

You cant really blame the director too much for plots holes. That lies more with the writers. I think Abrams is a good director. I thought the Star Trek movie was ok, but I can understand why people might not like it. However, we cant discredit a director completely over it.

Actually I think that depends. Just because there's a script doesn't mean it's followed when the shoot is done. And then on top of that you have editing which can further change everything quite a bit. The director is key in both processes.

What did everyone think of Abrams Super 8? I thought it was great. Do we know who the writer for the Star Wars movie will be? Last rumor I heard it was the writer for Toy Story 3

I thought Super 8 was good. To me it had almost a Spielberg feel to it in the beginning at least, but like many movies I found that the last third or fourth was a let-down. So I have to say I think it was overrated. I think he's a good director and I think that's why I have a problem with decision; SW should get a great director, not a good one.