Director JJ Abrams has insisted this week that Disney isn’t trying to “Disney-fy” the new Star Wars movie.
The Super 8 director says the House of Mouse fully understands what the iconic sci-fi franchise stands for and isn’t trying to alter it. Abrams’ The Force Awakens is the first in a new wave of upcoming Star Wars movies, following The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012.
During a filmed talk for Vanity Fair, Abrams confirmed that he has final cut on the film, whilst also conceding that “when you do a Disney project, there’s a clause in there that you kind of go, ‘Well, if I were a lawyer I could probably drive a truck through it…”
However, he has maintained that Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and chairman Alan Horn aren’t trying to alter the iconic sci-fi franchise, saying: “I cannot say enough about how Bog Iger and Alan Horn have understood this thing that is now part of the Disney company. And they’re not trying to Disney-fy it. They’re not doing anything other than, I think, an incredibly smart thing, which is letting Kathleen Kennedy – who is a remarkable person and producer – run and lead Lucasfilm to a place where I think it wants to go.”
Alongside the returning trio of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, the film’s cast also includes Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow and Andy Serkis.
Meanwhile, it has recently emerged that the film, which is set 30 years after the events of Return Of The Jedi, will feature a character apparently named after a Beastie Boys album.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set for release in the UK on 17th December. Watch the trailer below.
