Suspicion? Disappointment? But if you thought you had more than enough material to make a new movie, would you not want to hear the director's perspective on the material? He should have to do more than a one line paragraph stating "The source material is no longer considered canon..." In other words, the producer-slash-director wants to throw out the baby with the bathwater and kill this franchise. (Even if he is going through a writers block, he should at least consider doing something with the material.) If this is true, it's pretty damning on his part. "The source material is no longer considered canon..." is more of a line written to satisfy the legal-eagles on this one. Aren't they allowed to go back and edit canon? The film could use a polish, but they're definitely allowed to tweak things to be more dramatic. That's pretty much what JJ was talking about when he left. He didn't think the direction was true to what he wanted, so he went for other ideas. That's really the important bit -- when he leaves, we're given no reason to think he's being fired from the movie. He just isn't directing anymore. When you remove that bit, the way the director said it sounds like he and the studio are fighting over the movie. What do you think about J.J. Abrams leaving or being let go? Abrams has said he wants to redefine the movie in terms of genre. Whether that would require changing the timeline of how the events that happen in the new movie happened or if he was referring to something else, I don't know. However, I think it's understandable that if Abrams wants to do that, then it makes sense to get a new director because he certainly has the biggest reputation of working with actors and producing a good film so I can see his decision to let go or leave. What do you think about Abrams leaving or being let go? Personally, I didn't expect Abrams to stay on to finish the movie. Even if they make changes to the timeline of how the events take place in the movie, Abrams still doesn't have the final say on what they should be. I'm surprised that he wants to stay on, though. I haven't seen the movies. Is there really enough story material from this? Yes. It's an easy answer for a lot of fans, but it's more complicated than that. Abrams wanted the movie to be more action-oriented, but according to reports, he was actually planning to throw out a lot of scenes from the three films so they can rework the movies. Also, this is going to be a prequel film. Abrams is said to be interested in time travel. We know that, as far as this one goes, they're still going to follow the storyline of Harrison Ford's Han Solo. It would appear that the prequels don't have much impact on this one and that's why Abrams is only interested in focusing on the films and not the prequels. It was pretty clear that J.J. Abrams was pushing the boundaries in terms of the plot and the timeline, but even if he wasn't able to get those changes through, I'm surprised he'd take this approach. At least, it'll be interesting to see if Abrams changes his opinion. What do you think about Abrams leaving or being let go? Personally, I'm not surprised at all. When an actor takes over for another actor that usually doesn't go well. Abrams has been pretty open about it and it seems like he was willing to move on to something else. After watching what Disney has done with Star Wars, I'd think Abrams is just trying to move on to another franchise. I don't see him sticking with this franchise for more than two more films and, frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if that was what was agreed upon in his contract. I imagine he thinks "There's just not much to do" without changes. Abrams can make the changes later to fit his vision. So, J.J. Abrams is off because he can't make the changes he wants to make and not because he was fired? I think it's a good sign that Abrams is leaving because he won't be directly responsible for making changes if things don't work out. He's being allowed to take his time and reevaluate what he wants to do with the movie. If he has big issues with it after taking some time off, then maybe they go back to Harrison Ford and talk to him about the changes he wants to make. Abrams leaving for this is not a bad thing for the franchise. At the very least, Disney will be able to save some money on hiring another director. What do you think about J.J. Abrams leaving or being let go? I think it's a bad sign. There's a difference between making a small tweak to the movie and completely changing the plot. We don't even know what they're really making changes to or what they want to do, but I can see why Abrams might have stepped down. He has a lot of work to do if he wants to change everything. It's definitely good to see that Abrams wants a new director for the movie. I can imagine that he'd have some other ideas and we can't be sure if the directors he's talking to are able to execute them. I'm shocked that he thinks that there's not much material to work with. It seems that he knows the original trilogy well and might know better than some writers and producers do when it comes to working with this franchise. The material is just not worth anything. You make a movie that's great and you get another film that's awful. Not necessarily true. For example, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was pretty good compared to the first two movies and that's why I actually liked the first few films. Plus, the plot doesn't really matter all that much if you can make a great movie. So, J.J. Abrams is off because he can't make the changes he wants to make and not because he was fired? Oh yes, I think he was fired from the Star Wars series. A while back it was announced that Lucasfilms wouldn't renew his deal and if he wasn't up to being another director. The other reason I think it's a bad thing is that he's taking a lot of the crew of his previous films with him. I think it's a good sign that Abrams is leaving because he won't be directly responsible for making changes if things don't work out. He's being allowed to take his time and reevaluate what he wants to do with the movie. If he has big issues with it after taking some time off, then maybe they go back to Harrison Ford and talk to him about the changes he wants to make. Abrams leaving for this is not a bad thing for the franchise. At the very least, Disney will be able to save some money on hiring another director. Are you saying the director of Episode VII is still being renegotiated to return? What I meant is that if Abrams goes back to the series, he'll be doing so as a hired gun (director) rather than the auteur-director. He'll be doing this movie in lieu of any other projects he's been working on as he won't have his other projects that have been in production since he went on his Star Wars hiatus. J.J. Abrams is leaving Star Wars for the reasons outlined in the article. Whether or not this means that Star Wars will be in for some big problems is up in the air. Whether Abrams was fired or he left to do other work, it's very, very good news for Star Wars fans. We will never have to sit through a crappy Star Wars movie like Revenge of the Fallen ever again. I'm not sure why people are surprised, they were all set up for this since Abrams made a big deal out of making changes and not wanting to follow the current story as he has with films like the other 2 STAR WARS movies. So, J.J. Abrams is off because he can't make the changes he wants to make and not because he was fired? Why is everyone talking about how this show wasn't as good? I'd rather focus on what could happen rather than what has already happened. That's just plain stupid. I'm not sure why people are surprised, they were all set up for this since Abrams made a big deal out of making changes and not wanting to follow the current story as he has with films like the other 2 STAR WARS movies. So, J.J.