Today we learn why J.J. Abrams (‘Star Trek’,’Super 8′) believes why he was the best choice to direct ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ but also have some new behind the scenes photos and details on the making of the film! For everyone that is concerned about the film and Disney using “Star Wars’ as a cash cow, Abrams does state the the film was “not about explaining everything away, not about introducing a certain number of toys for a corporation, not about trying to appease anyone.”  That should appease many.

Here’s the true reason why Abrams felt he was the perfect fit for the film:

“As a fan of Star Wars, I can look at those movies and both respect and love what they’ve done. But working on The Force Awakens, we’ve had to consider them in a slightly different context. For example, it’s very easy to love “I am your father.” But when you think about how and when and where that came, I’m not sure that even Star Wars itself could have supported that story point had it existed in the first film, Episode IV. Meaning: It was a massively powerful, instantly classic moment in movie history, but it was only possible because it stood on the shoulders of the film that came before it. There had been a couple of years to allow the idea of Darth Vader to sink in, to let him emerge as one of the greatest movie villains ever. Time built up everyone’s expectations about the impending conflict between Luke and Vader. If “I am your father” had been in the first film, I don’t know if it would have had the resonance. I actually don’t know if it would have worked.”

With so much time having passed between the films, a certain attention to detail had to be brought when certain characters were brought back on screen:

“It was important that Han Solo be Han Solo but not feel like he’s playing a 30-year-old dude. When you’re 70, you will have lived a different set of experiences. That has to be apparent in who he is. Harrison was required to bring a level of complexity that a 30-year-old Han wouldn’t be required to have.”

While Abrams has a mostly successful track record, a few people might call him out on plots being a little weaker than they could have been in the past . Abrams is quite aware of this and made sure ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ didn’t fall in that category:

“More than anything, I drew on personal experiences as cautionary tales, things that I didn’t want to do again. For example, I didn’t want to enter into making a movie where we didn’t really own our story. I feel like I’ve done that a couple of times in my career. That’s not to say I’m not proud of my work, but the fact is I remember starting to shoot Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness and feeling like I hadn’t really solved some fundamental story problems.”

When putting the story together with Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote both ‘Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi,’ Abrams reveals:

“We wanted to tell a story that had its own self-contained beginning, middle, and end but at the same time, like A New Hope, implied a history that preceded it and also hinted at a future to follow. When Star Wars first came out, it was a film that both allowed the audience to understand a new story but also to infer all sorts of exciting things that might be. In that first movie, Luke wasn’t necessarily the son of Vader, he wasn’t necessarily the brother of Leia, but it was all possible. The Force Awakens has this incredible advantage, not just of a passionate fan base but also of a backstory that is familiar to a lot of people. We’ve been able to use what came before in a very organic way, because we didn’t have to reboot anything. We didn’t have to come up with a backstory that would make sense; it’s all there. But these new characters, which Force is very much about, find themselves in new situations—so even if you don’t know anything about Star Wars, you’re right there with them. If you are a fan of Star Wars, what they experience will have added meaning.”

The more I see and hear about the film I can honestly say the more excited I’ve become.

Do you think that Abrams has the passion and talent to do ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ justice? Share your thoughts below!

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Collider