You're My Only Hope

The torch has been passed.

When news broke in October of 2012 that The Walt Disney Company was going to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. and begin production on Star Wars Episode VII, I began to think about what would happen to the hallowed franchise. Would the story from Episodes I-VI continue? Would the living cast members from those films come back to reprise their roles (please, don't do it)? And most importantly, who would be the director now that George Lucas had decided to ride off into the sunset?

Every big name director, from Christopher Nolan to Ben Affleck, had their name tossed into the hat. Irreparable damage was done to the franchise with Episodes I, II, and III. They were brutal films. The only memorable thing about them was the lightsaber duel at the end of The Phantom Menace. Bringing this franchise back from the brink would be a burden very few directors could shoulder.

What's funny is the same thing happened to another venerable science fiction franchise. Star Trek was eclipsed 10x over by Star Wars, and the films released in the 1990's destroyed what little credibility it had left. When comic book movies began their ascent to the top of Hollywood in the mid 2000's, Star Trek seemed like it would be left on the scrapheap until a studio got desperate and wanted to make a quick buck.

Enter J.J. Abrams, a student of Steven Spielberg and a disciple of film. His 2007 reboot, simply titled Star Trek, revived the franchise and set it up for what promises to be a lucrative future (the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, is due out this spring). I hadn't been a fan of Star Trek until I watched that film. It gave me a newfound perspective regarding the series and what it means to the science fiction genre.

Now, it's one thing to reboot Star Trek, a franchise that was in complete ruin. No one had any expectations leading up to its reboot in 2007. Directing Episode VII is different. It's probably the hardest task any director will undertake over the next decade or two. If the film bombs critically (it has no chance of bombing financially), the franchise would be in jeopardy of entering a point of no return with the fans who elevated it to its lofty status.

Although this is video is 5 years old, and will be 7 at the time of Episode VII's release, it is what I direct people to when they ask if J.J. Abrams is capable of handling all the responsibilities with bringing us Episode VII. He was destined to bring Star Wars back from the abyss. If you haven't seen any of his films or television shows, go watch them before the summer of 2015. Lost, Star Trek, and Super 8 show that the force is strong with this one, and that the Star Wars franchise is headed for new, unimagined heights.