J.J. Abrams Says He Wishes He Was Directing STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII
This doesn't come straight from the horse's mouth, but Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor and close friend of J.J. Abrams, Greg Grunberg, reckons the director is such a big fan of the script for the next installment that he really wishes he'd stayed at the helm. More past the jump...
For many of us, the only real disappointment associated with Star Wars: The Force Awakens was leaving the theater knowing J.J. Abrams wouldn't be returning to direct the follow-up movies. Though the still untitled Episode VIII may be in good hands with Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick), most fans would rather see Abrams stay on to continue the great work he began on the first flick - and from the sounds of things, Abrams himself may be regretting his decision to step away.
Greg Grunberg, who plays X-Wing pilot Snap Wexley in The Force Awakens, tells the Washington Post that upon reading the script for Episode VIII, his lifelong friend reacted in a way he'd never known him to before.
"He read it and said something he never, ever says. He said: ‘It’s so good, I wish I were making it.’ “He may have said something one time on ‘Lost,’ with Damon [Lindelof, the co-creator], but I never hear him express regret like that.”
Of course he may not actually regret it and was simply putting across how impressed he was with Johnson's script, but even that is a very good sign. Abrams is staying on as executive producer anyway, so fans can rest easy that he'll at least have some input into the movie and hopefully make the transition from The Force Awakens as seamless as possible.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.