JJ Abrams Explains Star Wars Change Of Heart + See Empire Mag’s Star Trek Into Darkness Cast Photo Cover

When LuscasFilm and Disney announced that JJ Abrams was going to direct Star Wars Episode VII people were surprised, especially because he had previously said he turned down the job because of his work on Star Trek. Now in a special JJ Abrams Issue of Empire Magazine, Abrams explains his change of heart. Details on that below, plus a preview of the cool Empire fold out Star Trek Into Darkness cover.  

 

Abrams explains his Star Wars change of heart

In December JJ Abrams was quoted by Empire Magazine that he had turned down an offer to direct the next Star Wars movie due to his "loyalty to Star Trek." So it was a big surprise a month later when Disney announced that Abrams had signed on for Episode VII. Now in preview of the May issue of Empire Magazine, Abrams explains his change of heart:

“My knee-jerk reaction was that I’m in the middle of working on the Star Trek movie and I can’t even consider it. But then time went by and I got further along working on the movie and getting to a place where I had done most of the heavy lifting. So when I met with Kathy Kennedy we just started discussing it and I was able to actually engage in the conversation. I went down to tell Katie, my wife and I said ‘I had just a very interesting conversation with Kathy.’ That was the beginning.

“I will say that Steven [Spielberg] was very encouraging of Star Wars. It’s funny because I talked to him about it and it turned out he knew all about what was going on.”

So apparently it is all Spielberg’s fault….SPIELBERG!!!. It is actually a bit ironic because according to Bob Orci, it was Spielberg who helped convince JJ to direct (and not just produce) the 2009 Star Trek movie.

Anyway, Abrams and Bad Robot aren’t actually leaving the Star Trek franchise. They will be producing a third Star Trek movie to follow up Into Darkness, with Abrams and Bryan Burk returning as producers. However, recent comments from Burk about possibly aiming for a 2016 release (only one year after Episode VII) make it unlikely that Abrams will become the first person to direct three Star Trek movies. 

The Empire preview of their Abrams interview also had a bit about his early thoughts on Star Wars: Episode VII. The director said it was really too early for any definitive answers about the film, but he contrasted it with his work on Star Trek, saying:

“I feel like I can identify a hunger for what I would want to see again and that is an incredibly exciting place to begin a project. The movies, the worlds could not be more different but that feeling that there’s something amazing here is the thing that they share.”

The May issue of Empire Magazine is all about JJ Abrams and promises more Into Darkness news. Empire has also previewed the cool fold-out Star Trek Into Darkness cover.


Star Trek Into Darkness fold-out cover for May Empire
(click to enlarge)

 

Bad Robot embracing the Stars (Wars and Trek)

The folks at Bad Robot productions appear to have no issues mixing work on the to big "Star" franchises. This week the @bad_robot twitter feed shared this image of Star Trek and Star Wars-inspired art living together at the Bad Robot complex.

And last month when Bad Robot joined the Harlem Shake craze, you can spot a "Spock" and "Darth Vader" dancing together.

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Cool cover !!!!!

Kirk doesn’t like people sitting in his chair!

Thanks Spielberg! No, really, thanks!

“JJ, OUT of the chair..”

is Alice eve looks very tall compared john cho , might just be because she is standing closer.

Always nice to see the good old GGB.

Uhura gets the cover and Bones gets pushed to panel two with Scotty. I know why the marketing people do it, I know: she’s female, of race, good looking, played by a well-known actress. Even so, Bones and Scotty are far more important to the franchise (and more well-known publicly) than Uhura. Uhura is traditionally down in second class with Sulu and Chekov. The only characters the general public really know are Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty. Come on: an all guy approach works with other franchises (see Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or even Red Dwarf and look how that worked out with Kochanski), why not Star Trek? Why do we need a token female in the key characters?

I suspect JJ Abrams is suffering from a bad case of “JamesCameronitis”, where one can’t help but go for it all so he can rightfully declare, “I’M THE KING OF THE WORLD!”

I don’t know about anyone else but I love that this is going on. We are living in a Golden Age for nerd/geek culture as it pertains to the amount of content in our TV and films.

To me, being overwhelmed with so much is a good problem to have.

My lovely friend in Iceland has agreed to buy a copy and mail it to me. :) She sent me a copy of the Empire issue with Benedict on the cover too because she’s a great friend. I’m super excited to read this! I think this is a fun cover and I like how it’s JJ on his “throne.” Very cool that the film is getting so much press coverage!

@7 LJ

I agree. TOS-Trek is basically Kirk, Bones and Spock for me. Leaving bones out of the poster is a bummer (i don’t like the new poster anyway)
Furthermore they pushed Judge Dredd out of the way! Nobody treats Judge Dredd like that ;-)
And i also think that Karl Urban made the best performance of all of them. He deserves the big attention.

@ Cinema Geekly –
“I don’t know about anyone else but I love that this is going on. We are living in a Golden Age for nerd/geek culture as it pertains to the amount of content in our TV and films. ”

Could be better. The Stargate-franchise is dead, Battlestar Galactica is also over and Star Trek is alive but just on the big screen. I have to wait about 3-4 years to get a new film damn.
I am actually a little bored at the moment.

My apologies if the words ‘token female’ offended anyone in my above post: I have no problems with strong female characters if they serve as crucial a role in the plot as a male (see Ripley in Aliens). What I am complaining about is if they are just pushed to the front to try and attract a female audience, or – at worst – to sell posters to teenage boys. I feel about this the same way as I feel about male characters in teen films always being portrayed as jerks or accessories, or a combination thereof (I have daughters, so I’ve seen this quite a few times).

Abrams sorted out the mess again with Star Trek. Trek now is alive again. Now he has to do it again with Star Wars, which got almost single handedly destroyed by George Lucas. Good luck, JJ.
I am awaiting Episode 7

Am glad JJ gets to do star wars…he gets to fulfill his dream and be part of star wars history.

I know there are so many people that claim to be die hard star wars fans but face it at the end of the day you are just one of a billion fan around the world.

IF, however you get to work on a star wars material by directing a star wars movie or writing a star wars novel, you are no longer just a fan , you are now part of its history.

JJ gets to be part of the Star Wars history and not just a fan …how can any one hate him for that.

Besides…Star Trek 2009 is JJ’s most critical acclaimed work,I doubt he would ever top that .Not even with Episode 7 or STiD

So………..Have fun Mr Abrams.

I love the Cover.
Well. as long as we have great Writters and a great Director and a Incredible Story for the next Star Trek. Then J.J. Go for it.

take your lens flares with you and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Give us Johnathan Franks. He made 2 really good star trek movies.

Yeah, the cover looks great. If they could only have made that ugly Poster in a similar way.

I see the Trek diehard fans still whining about how Uhura is replacing Mccoy.

GROW UP GUYS AND STOP WHINGING LIKE SPOILT KIDS.

Am so glad JJ is moving to star wars. The star wars diehard fans are very accepting of women.

@17. Allen Williams
“take your lens flares with you and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Give us Johnathan Franks. He made 2 really good star trek movies.”

He made the best (First Contact) and the worst (Insurrection) TNG-film.
I am not that convinced about him.
And i like Lens Flares.

@Baby
“I see the Trek diehard fans still whining about how Uhura is replacing Mccoy.The star wars diehard fans are very accepting of women.”

Preferring Bones on the poster has nothing to do about not accepting women, but because Bones is the more important character.

My crew looks…. “fierce”!

….And, in other news :

“I will say that Steven [Spielberg] was very encouraging of Star Wars. It’s funny because I talked to him about it and it turned out he knew all about what was going on.”

Why am I not surprised?
It reminds me of the time when “Steven” was very encouraging of Star Trek….

“‘Star Trek XI’ scribe Roberto Orci told fans at Creation Entertainment’s Grand Slam: The Sci-Fi Summit in Burbank, Calif., that Spielberg had to work to convince Abrams to take on the project while the up-and-coming director was visiting the set of ‘Transformers’ last year.”

(Link if authorized, here):
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/4931

Well, I can be the… “encouraging”… type as well ; best wishes in your future endeavours, Mr. Abrams!

:)

Okay, this seems a bit odd…
__________

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS & Paramount Pictures Celebrate WWF’s Earth Hour

LONDON, March 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — As the UK prepares to go ‘into darkness’ for WWF’s Earth Hour, Paramount Pictures is pleased to announce its support with a special ‘Star Trek’ themed light display which will dim as Earth Hour approaches.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO )

This amazing light show by Paramount, in conjunction with Ars Electronica Futurelab & Ascending Technologies, will see quadrocopters fly into the night sky, forming the Star Trek federation logo beside Tower Bridge on a scale never seen before. In keeping with Earth Hour’s initiative, the quadrocopters will utilize batteries that were charged in Austria using green energy from the Austrian renewable energy grid specifically for this event.

The event will coincide with WWF’s Earth Hour at 8:30 pm. Along with key landmarks such as Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and The London Eye going dark, the quadrocopters will turn off their glow in support of Earth Hour.

8. Harry Ballz – March 23, 2013

Maybe.

But what the hell does Spielberg have to do with it?

There always seems to be some hint of Spielberg in the background of JJ Abrams’ career. What’s up with that?

And people’s opinion of Spielberg seems to be on the rise, while mine is going the opposite direction.

I have not been able to view him the same way since he got involved with making political propaganda

“And people’s opinion of Spielberg seems to be on the rise, while mine is going the opposite direction.”
_______

You and me both…

Wow, like 25% of the posts here so far are from this male chauvinist Exverlobter clown. Quantity over substance.

@K7

“Wow, like 25% of the posts here so far are from this male chauvinist Exverlobter clown. Quantity over substance.”

I am just answering to previous posts. Not allowed?

ANd i am not a chauvinist i just still think that Bones should have deserved a place on the poster because he (normally) is a more important character than Uhura.

Exverlobter warning for spamming. You dont need to dominate discussion to make your point

K7 warning for flaming. Namecalling is not called for

JJ…..please come back to Trek…….:-(

LJ said in #7, “Why do we need a token female in the key characters?” And then in #11 you said, “I agree.” So there you have it.

Besides, it’s an alternate timeline. Uhura is at least as important as Bones in this timeline. Deal with it.

Hey, Keachick, there’s your cast photo!!

7. LJ
again with this? this is getting really OLD

“Even so, Bones and Scotty are far more important to the franchise (and more well-known publicly) than Uhura.”
says who?
I’d say that Uhura is way more popular than Scotty here, without question. Take a look at the amount of fanworks and blogs dedicated to Uhura compared to Scotty.

not to even mention Zoe Saldana’s popularity and how she’s known and her face is recognized even by non trek fans.

“The only characters the general public really know are Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty.”

what is this general public, specifically?
the general public aka the fans of the reboot aren’t just the old trek fans, a lot of people that love the reboot didn’t even watch TOS and they won’t care about how it “was” or how it’s supposed to be according to some fanboys. A lot of people also are fans of the reboot precisely because it’s not totally like TOS because the original star trek had never interested them.
and Reboot-vise, Scotty didn’t get any more character development than the others. Uhura and MCCoy got more screentime than him and were more prominent. They’re also more prominent in both the comics and the novels.
and frankly, even I that *I’m* a fan of Tos I never considered Scotty that popular or remotely comparable to McCoy.
and I’d rather get annoyed at him getting replaced by Scotty (so it seems) than Uhura, tbh.

Do a Star Trek / Star Wars crossover.

What’s all the hubbub about this “Star Wars” thing, anyway?

It’s, like, a film that came out in 1974 or something. They’ll recycle anything these days, I tell ya. As long as it makes a fast buck.

@ Exverlobter.

Agreed that Karl’s performance was excellent. Shame they couldn’t have had him on the poster as well as Uhura.

As long as JJ Abrams takes Cumberbatch with him to Star wars I’m happy. I really really want to see Cumberbatch in Star Wars.

Quick question,

Is Empire mag available in print form in the US?

#34 “Agreed that Karl’s performance was excellent. Shame they couldn’t have had him on the poster as well as Uhura.”

Wow, some of you obviously aren’t even looking at the poster? He is on the poster. Sheesh!

Somebody on Tumblr fixed the cover already! They took Cumberbatch out, pasted Urban in, and it looks very nice indeed. Go look it up. :)

Spielberg: “Loyalty shmoyalty…take the money!”

JJ: “Wow, I never thought of it that way. I believe I am having a change of heart brought on by a combination of increased pecuniary incentive and your sagacious advice.”

You’re all heart, JJ.

Zoe Saldana will always been seen as that blue chick from Avatar, which just happens to be the highest grossing film of all time.

Zoe been a woman of colour is an advantage to her, she is not only african american , she is also a black latina that speaks Spanish. Zoe is also one of the few women of colour that gets cast in mainstream film where race is not even central to the story.

so yeah Zoe is one of the most popular members in the cast

Also I am the only one that think zoe saldana is much prettier than alice eve?

uhura is more classy and sexy while alice eve is sexy with a lust appeal.

I apologize.

You are forgiven, K-7.

21. Exverlobter
“Preferring Bones on the poster has nothing to do about not accepting women, but because Bones is the more important character.”

see, I LOVE Bones. He’s my favorite after Spock, I ACTUALLY like him more than Kirk (now I said it)
but this insistence that one character is more important than another is getting pretentious as hell.
This is not TOS but it seems that some people want the promotional stuff to reflect the old thing instead of what the reboot actually is now and the way this story is written.

Maybe you all should just accept that Bones isn’t “the more important character” here and move on getting rid of this stupid “Uhura is replacing Bones” obsession.

“Exverlobter warning for spamming. You dont need to dominate discussion to make your point”

.Sorry, it was not my intention to dominate the discussion. I just was answering to previous posts as they were coming up.

Is Karl Urban going to sell a movie? That why he’s not on the poster.

@ 38. K-7 – March 23, 2013

” #34 “Agreed that Karl’s performance was excellent. Shame they couldn’t have had him on the poster as well as Uhura.”

Wow, some of you obviously aren’t even looking at the poster? He is on the poster. Sheesh!”

Sorry, he is NOT. And we are talking about the international poster that came out with the latest trailer. Not the Empire magazine poster.

This whole article is covering the Empire Magazine fold-out poster. There is another recent article talking about the foreign posters.

You are on the wrong message thread.

We all know that McCoy is a very big part of the original crew.

But all this complaining of McCoy not being in the main posters is baseless. Go look at the TOS movie posters – only one or two of them had McCoy; and in those, he was in the background.

TMP had Kirk, Spock, and Ilia.

TWOK had Khan, Kirk, Spock, and Saavik.

TSFS and TVH he was in the background and barley recognizable.

TFF and TUC he was not there again.

If you want to criticize the new Star Trek for leaving McCoy out, fine, go ahead. But the original movies did the same thing.

@49. K-7

Well, you were replying to someone who was talking about the international poster. Hence my reply to your reply ;)