EDITORIAL: The Pros & Cons of J.J. Abrams Directing STAR WARS EPISODE VII

Everyone was taken by surprise that another Star Wars (SWEVII to be exact) was indeed happening after all these years and doubt to see more Jedi kicking Sith ass in space on the big screen again, but it’s happening. Seeing as how Abrams landing the gig has caused some hot debate amongst the CBM community I’ve decided to throw in my two cents on the pros and cons of Abrams directing, so let’s begins shall we?


Pros:
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*Great Director: Not only is J.J. an extremely clever guy at handling ambitious projects of epic proportions, but Abrams is a brilliant director and in my book the perfect director to bring Star Wars back to the big screen because he’s capable of handling something of this magnitude and grasps a perfect balance of emotional storytelling and lightheartedness. Also, not forgetting to mention that he actually CARES about this as much as the fans and isn’t in it for the money.



*Ensemble Casts: Abrams has worked with ensemble casts before (Super 8, MI: III, Star Trek), so this should be an easy feat for him as he has that experience of working with a large cast, which we know Episode VII will probably have. This pro isn’t that much of a big deal, though as Matthew Vaughn was apparently also in talks and directed an ensemble cast in X-Men: FC.



*Star Trek & Beyond: Handling Star Trek is one thing and Star Wars another and while I see why some folks are worried the same man is involved in both worlds (more on that later) it is also a good thing because we can kind of get a basic idea of what J.J. will do and Abrams can take that Trek experience along with him.




*Star Wars Made J.J. Abrams: OK, maybe not literally, but you get what I’m trying to say. Not long ago someone (can’t remember who, though… maybe Bryan Burk?) said that Abrams grew up watching the original trilogy and the movies are what eventually got him into the film industry, so this proves Abrams’ love for them and as mentioned earlier he CARES about this as much as we do, so not only will he be present as a director, but as a fan as well.





Cons:
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*Too Much Power: I think most of you will agree with me when I say giving a director keys to both well-known franchises is a bit too much. Nuff said.



*Star Trek: Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see Abrams got the gig, but at the same time I fear the worst for both franchises because it could end up being another X-Men: The Last Stand-situation and I don’t want that to happen to either sides of the pond. Also, as I stated earlier I can see both sides of the coin and know that some fans worry that since Abrams is at the helm it may confuse people, who aren’t geeks or familiar with these properties, and lead them to think Star Trek and Star Wars are the same thing or exist in the same universe. So just as much as Star Trek is a pro it is also a con.



Familiar VS New Faces: For Star Wars Episode VII I want new faces, new talent, basically unknown actors as Han and Leia’s kids, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing a familiar face from one of Abrams’ films in this new chapter. I just prefer new more than familiar though, so this is more opinion than con.



Studio Puppet: Abrams himself recently said that Paramount Pictures pushed him into making Into Darkness in 3D and that scares me just a weeny (teehee) tiny bit because if you think about it Disney could pressure J.J. into doing something and he’ll most likely comply depending on what it is, it’s nothing too big, bit just wanted to throw in this thought.




I, for one am REALLY excited and simply can’t wait come 2015 to see the real deal just get Sam Witwer, Elizabeth Gillies, and Anthony Ingruber as Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo and I’ll be happy. Who would you guys like to see in the roles and feel free to throw in your own two cents down in the comment section below!