Interview with J.J. Abrams on Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Honestly, I could spend all day talking with J.J. Abrams, the co-writer and director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But I only got 5 minutes. So how do you narrow down enough questions to choke Jabba the Hutt to something he’s willing to answer? After all, Abrams spent many hours picking the brain of Lawrence Kasdan, the genius behind The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark and the co-writer of The Force Awakens. He also worked extensively with composer John Williams to bring back the score we know and love while simultaneously breaking new ground. And, of course, he’s plotting the course for the rest of the Star Wars sequels by setting the tone with this film. Just to further complicate matters, none of the press screened the film in advance and Abrams is fiercely guarding the Star Wars mystery box and what’s inside of it. So with all that in mind, I went in to interview the man who holds the destiny of Star Wars in his hands.
Opening in theaters on December 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and features a new generation of swashbuckling heroes and shadowy villains, as well as the return of fan-favorite smugglers, princesses, and Jedi.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, the highly-anticipated movie stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be followed on December 16, 2016 by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Episode VIII on May 26, 2017, and the Han Solo anthology movie on May 25, 2018. No release dates have been announced for Star Wars: Episode IX or for the third anthology movie. It was recently confirmed, however, that Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow will be helming the third Saga chapter.
You can watch all the previously-released trailers and TV spots for the film by clicking here.
