Why did JJ Abrams initially turn down Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

You'd be forgiven for thinking that everyone and anyone in Hollywood would jump at the chance to work on the new Star Wars films, but it apparently wasn't an easy decision for JJ Abrams. The director sat down with SFX in this month's issue to discuss all things The Force Awakens, and revealed that he initially turned down the job because he was such a big Star Wars fan.

“I quickly said that, being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things,” Abrams said. “I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”

Thankfully (at least, we're hoping thankfully because we haven't seen the film yet...), Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy persuaded him to reconsider. And we can't imagine Abrams is regretting it as there must be advantages to working on one of your favourite film franchises too? "I am not joking when I say that every day there were multiple 'pinch me' moments" Abrams confirms. We're not jealous at all.

Read SFX's Star Wars: The Force Awakens feature in full, ​including interviews with the cast and more, in ​the latest issue, on sale now!

Lauren O'Callaghan

Lauren O'Callaghan is the former Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar+. You'd typically find Lauren writing features and reviews about the latest and greatest in pop culture and entertainment, and assisting the teams at Total Film and SFX to bring their excellent content onto GamesRadar+. Lauren is now the digital marketing manager at the National Trust.