After the bungled “is he/isn’t he” reveal surrounding Benedict Cumberbatch‘s John Harrison/Khan character in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS put a hole in J.J. Abrams trademark secrecy surrounding projects he has directed or produced, many have been left wondering whether or not he would employ the same with STAR WARS: EPISODE VII. With Disney and Marvel very open and timely with their news surrounding superhero movie news, can Abrams do the same with Lucasfilm’s pride and joy?
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Abrams was asked about how his history of playing things close to the vest will go down with his latest film.
“[STAR WARS has] always been a more open, fan-engaged universe than I’ve been used to,” he admitted that “there’ll be some sort of compromise…there’s a purity in not knowing every little thing [about a story ahead of time]. We’re living in a moment of instant information and a sense of entitlement to that information. I think it’s nice to remember that there’s nothing wrong with a sense of anticipation.”
Abrams even shared a fun little anecdote about how Bad Robot is handling STAR WARS: EPISODE VII development:
My office… I’m working on the Star Wars script today and the people in my office have covered up all my windows with black paper. I guess they wanted to make sure no one could see what I was doing.” He added, “it seems rather extreme.”
We have had almost no news about STAR WARS: EPISODE VII aside from the hiring and departure of Michael Arndt. This includes the lack of formal announcements surrounding whether Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, or Carrie Fisher being in the movie at all. So far it seems like Disney is either planning on a big announcement at one time or they are still in a state of flux which they don’t want to be interpreted as production trouble this far into the game. I hope it is the former as STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is going to make or break a lot of fans. I have confidence in J.J. Abrams, but I am still cautiously optimistic about this.
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII opens December 18, 2015.