J.J. Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars' installment

Posted Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 5:27 PM Central
Last updated Friday, January 25, 2013 at 2:28 PM Central

by John Couture

The force is indeed strong with this one. Despite having arguably the best last decade of anyone else in Hollywood, life just continues to get better and better for J.J. Abrams.

Many outlets are reporting and the always reliable Deadline is confirming that Abrams will indeed be in the director's chair for Star Wars: Episode VII.

Yes, the man that revitalized the Star Trek franchise will get the chance to breathe new life into its number one competitor, Star Wars.

I guess you could say that Abrams went over to the Dark Side and much like Darth Vader, he redeems himself at the end. Heck, just last month he said he would "rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming" and that he declined the job early on.

So, why the sudden change of heart? Well, Disney has deep pockets and Abrams didn't get to where he is by not being smart and knowing how to play the game. Disney has a lot of leverage and through his Bad Robot production company, Abrams has many balls in the air and they need to find a home someday.

Naturally, I'm a huge Abrams fan and this news tickles me to no end. I think he's the perfect sort of director that will treat the material reverently, while also putting his own twist on it that will most likely elevate the franchise.

After the last trilogy, we need that and I think he's the best man for the job. What do you think?

One thing we do know for sure is that there will be lens flares coming off of all of the light sabers. The one interesting tidbit was the little detail that Ben Affleck was also considered for the job.

Had Disney gone that route, it would have definitely been interesting, that's for sure. Star Wars: Episode VII is set to be released some time in 2015.