As franchises seem to multiply by the month — blanket properties splitting off with even a reboot of “The Crow” jammed in there — the same faces are likely to be at the helm: Kevin Feige with the second and third waves of Marvel films, J.J. Abrams fretting over how to helm both “Star Trek 3” and “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and now “X-Men: Days of Future Past” writer Simon Kinberg, who recently discussed his thoughts on his new role in the ‘Star Wars’ universe.
Kinberg was announced to join writer Lawrence Kasdan (“The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark“) in penning two separate “Star Wars” spin-offs after ‘Episode VII’ hits screens; Kasdan has made his thoughts clear that the original trilogy was “more about people than the ones that followed,” and Kinberg seems likely to agree, indicating that the characters will drive the new sequels.
“I think the reason that they’re different than other science fiction or other genre movies is because George [Lucas] created a universe of people that you wanted to go back and see over and over again,” Kinberg said (via LA Times). “[That’s] why it’s spanned and spawned so many different mediums, so many different generations, every different language. You want to go back and see those characters, like I did when I was a kid.” Calling ‘The Empire Strikes Back‘ the first movie he saw in the theater more than once — in fact, “10, 15 times” — you most certainly can call Kinberg a fan working on a dream project.
Meanwhile, two other massive “Star Wars” fans, J.J. Abrams and his “Star Trek Into Darkness” star Simon Pegg, recently sat down to talk Abrams’ next gig (via THR), and the director spoke briefly about his plunge without a “safety net” into the “Star Wars” universe.
Abrams says “not being a fan” was “always a little bit of something to fall back on” with his “Star Trek” gig, because it afforded him a more sober perspective on the material. “It forced questions about what we we’re doing, it couldn’t just be acceptable because it existed and I loved it ’cause I was a fan.”
You can watch the full, breezy interview with Pegg below, and start counting the days until 2015 to see if Abrams’ fandom swayed his directorial hand after all.