While excitement is riding high for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," it’s worth considering that J.J. Abrams is coming off a significant one-two punch: Steven Spielberg homage "Super 8," which I loved but which others found wanting, and 2013’s fumble "Star Trek Into Darkness." The latter in particular drew the ire of ‘Star Trek’ fans, and critics too weren’t kind to the picture in which Abrams’ penchant for playing coy didn’t pay off the dividends it promised. Speaking at the Montclair Film Festival (via Rolling Stone), Abrams admits the failings of the sequel.
In a conversation with Stephen Colbert, Abrams says "we got in trouble on the second ‘Star Trek’ film with some of the fans," adding that "there were too many nods to ‘[Star Trek II]: The Wrath of Khan.’ I’ll cop to that." Frankly, that’s the least of the problems with ‘Darkness,’ which featured a forgettable story and turned Spock into a kind of action hero, among other misdeeds. But hey, Abrams starting to open up is at least a start.
READ MORE: The Best & Worst Of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’
Meanwhile, in case you were wondering who Abrams’ favorite "Star Wars" character is, aside from the major players, he has a super dorky choice: Kardue’sai’Malloc, as seen in Mos Eisley’s Cantina in "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope". Here’s everything you need to know about him.
In other news, reporter Brent Simon reveals that thirty minutes of music recorded by John Williams but not used in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," will still be released.
Lastly, Google has launched their ‘The Force Awakens’ tie in (check out it here): you can watch the promo for that below.