J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars Episode VII

Following last year’s sale of Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.06 billion USD, many have speculated on the ultimate fate of George Lucas’ beloved Star Wars franchise. As a new Star Wars trilogy has already been announced by Lucas and Disney, the first film of the upcoming trio now has a director attached – J.J. Abrams. The celebrated director is set to turn his attentions from the world of Vulcans, Klingons, and the Enterprise to the Force, Jedi, and Galactic Empire as he takes the helm as director and producer of the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII. While Abrams’ future with the Star Trek franchise remains unclear at this point, many expect Abrams to be involved in at least some capacity with an eventual follow-up to Star Trek Into Darkness – this year’s sequel to the highly successful 2009 reboot of the franchise. Now in pre-production, Star Wars Episode VII is set to hit theaters in 2015.