Culture

J.J. Abrams Will Direct New 'Star Wars' — but Ben Affleck Almost Did?

One of the choices was obvious, and the other was, well, Ben Affleck, but Disney and Lucusfilm executives have apparently chosen King of the Nerds J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode VII.

By Connor Simpson
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This article is from the archive of our partner .

One of the choices was obvious, and the other was, well, Ben Affleck, but Disney and Lucusfilm executives have apparently chosen King of the Nerds J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars: Episode VII. The Wrap is now reporting that Disney execs have settled on Abrams as the director for the first entry in the expanded Star Wars film universe, but the trusted Hollywood trade site also suggests that Affleck, the rising director who just took home the Golden Globe for Argo, was in contention.

Of course, this means Abrams will be at the helm of the two biggest nerd franchises that don't involve orcs: the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises. Abrams previously threw out a red herring to fans in December when he said he had no desire to be involved with the project. Maybe that's an early indication as to what his vision might look like: There will be twists! In any case, it's slated for a 2015 release, behind a script from Michael Arndt of Little Miss Sunshine (there will be kids!), and should go into production at some point after Abrams finishes up the next Trek and the rest of his upcoming slate.

So far, the reaction to the apparent end of a pretty quick and much rumored search process has been, well, out of this world.

Some of it was, to put it simply, pure excitement:

Here's a live look at Jared Keller when he heard the news:

Others were quick to make jokes about overzealous Star Wars fans:

Or Abrams' past work:

Others felt bad for poor ol' Affleck:

But this person really highlighted the mistake Disney and Lucasfilm executives just made:

Click through to see the replies, too, because we all deserve to hear someone mention, 'pahking the death stah in the hah-vahd yahd.'

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.