Reports: J.J. Abrams tapped to direct Star Wars Episode VII

Even after he clearly stated he wouldn't do it.

J.J. Abrams

Previously considered to be a front-runner for the Star Wars directing job now that Disney has the reins of the legendary sci-fi franchise, TheWrap is reporting that J.J. Abrams is officially on board to direct Episode VII. Since that post went up, Variety has reported the same thing. This comes even after Abrams explicitly said that he would not be doing Star Wars and would rather be in the audience when the movie comes out.

Abrams is known for plenty of things, including Super 8, Cloverfield, Lost, Alias, and more. But perhaps most interestingly in this scenario, he is also the director of the modern Star Trek reboot films, the second of which is due to hit theaters this year. Star Wars and Star Trek may tend to court a similar audience, but I can’t say I would have ever thought the two franchises would end up sharing a director.

My initial reaction is that Abrams was not who I might have envisioned to take the Star Wars helm. But then, I love what he did with Star Trek, and I loved Lost from beginning to end (even though he had less to do with that series after its first season). So I remain cautiously optimistic. As GameSpot reviews editor Kevin VanOrd put it on Twitter, “Not sure that J. J. Abrams is the best fit for Star Wars. Then again, I’m positive that George Lucas was not the best fit for Star Wars.”

According to TheWrap, Ben Affleck was also in talks for the director’s seat.

The new Star Wars will be written by Little Miss Sunshine director Michael Arndt. Disney is currently scheduling it for a 2015 release.

How do you feel about the choice of director? Would you have chosen somebody different (perhaps a certain Joss Whedon)?