‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ – J.J. Abrams Seeking Feedback From George Lucas

J.J. Abrams gave his first extensive interview on 'Star Wars: Episode 7' to Playboy and spoke at length about the challenges of being in control of 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek' - two of the biggest sci-fi franchises in history. He talks about how he'll be collaborating with George Lucas, his feeling on the prequels and how you shouldn't assume he won't direct 'Star Trek 3.'

We know that 'Star Wars: Episode 7' will be very much a J.J. Abrams film and will likely depart wildly from the original treatments that Lucas wrote for the film (and, for all we know, Abrams' version will depart wildly from the script that Michael Arndt was hired to write). But rest easy 'Star Wars' fans, Abrams isn't putting Lucas out to pasture. Says Abrams:

We still have George Lucas with us to go to and ask questions and get his feedback on things, which I certainly will do.

It's just one of many tantalizing bits in Abrams' epic Playboy interview (it is Playboy so some mildly NSFW ads on that link) where he talks at length about his two burgeoning franchises.

Despite the interviewer trying gamely to get Abrams to talk about the 'Star Wars' prequels and Jar-Jar Binks and how they were universally loathed, Abrams wouldn't take the bait. When asked if he would make sure Jar Jar wasn't in his film he said:

You won’t like this answer, but it’s so early it would be insane to discuss details or get into plot points about what this unfilmed movie will be. And I’m not going to give my opinion on the original movies or characters.

This is despite the fact that he says later in the interview, "No one’s a bigger Star Wars fan than I am." So he'll give his opinion on the 'Star Wars' films he likes, just not on the 'Star Wars' films he doesn't like (i.e., the prequels).

As for whether the 'Star Wars' films means he's essentially out of the running for 'Star Trek 3,' Abrams says don't count him out just yet.

No. I would say it’s a possibility. We’re trying to figure out the next step. But it’s like anything: It all begins with the story.

And our question would be whether he'll have time to worry about the 'Star Trek 3' story when he'll be very busy figuring out the 'Star Wars: Episode 7' story. And will Paramount want to wait for him?

It's a great read and if you have time, you should make your way through the whole thing. There's plenty more on 'Cloverfield 2' and an 'Alias' movie and lots, lots more.