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Star Wars

That was probably a smart move!!

J.J. Abrams Turned Down Star Wars 7 Gig Out of Loyalty to Star Trek

J.J. Abrams at one point could have traded in the Enterprise for a ride on the Millennium Falcon. But he didn’t and now we know why.

The director—who boldly resurrected Star Trek’s big-screen adventures with 2009’s reboot and now next summer’s highly anticipated Star Trek Into Darkness—confirms he was offered the chance to come aboard the new Star Wars films Disney announced after buying George Lucas’ empire.

But he opted not to because he didn’t want to abandon his commitment to Captain Kirk and company.

“There were very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty to Star Trek, and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things,” Abrams told Empire magazine via comingsoon.net. “I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”

However, the filmmaker did wish the Mouse House and new Lucasfilm honcho Kathleen Kennedy, who’ll be overseeing the new Star Wars episodes, the very best, even if the two rival series end up possibly competing at the box office.

“I guess the franchises could go up against each other, but I’m not thinking that far ahead!” Abrams added. “I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, Empire and Jedi, and the idea of the world continuing is exciting and will be amazing. [Star Wars producer] Kathy Kennedy is a friend and there are no smarter producers. It’s in great hands.”

No word yet whom producers are looking at to take the helm of Star Wars: Episode VII, but various names rumored to be in the running include Matthew Vaughn, Darren Aronofsky, Alfonso Cuarón and even Steven Spielberg.

Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters on May 17, while the next Star Wars installment isn’t expected to drop until 2015 at the earliest.