Director J.J. Abrams Declined Shot at STAR WARS: EPISODE VII

According to The Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams reportedly declined an offer to helm the upcoming STAR WARS; EPISODE VII film. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, the director reveals that while he discussed the possibility with Lucasfilm, he decided in the end that he would "rather be in the audience."

Says Abrams, "There were the 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," he continued, "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."

It was recently announced that Academy-award winner Michael Arndt would helm the highly anticipated Star Wars film, which is currently being written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinsberg. Abrams' next installment of the Star Trek franchise, 'Star Trek Into Darkness' is set to hit theaters in June, 2013.

J.J. Abrams is well known for his work in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity (1998-2002). He also created Alias (2001-2006) and co-created Lost (2004-2010), Fringe (2008-present), Undercovers (2010) and produced the television series Person of Interest (2011-present), Alcatraz (2012) and Revolution (2012-present).

He directed the films Mission: Impossible III (2006), Star Trek (2009), and Super 8 (2011), and produced the films Cloverfield (2008), Morning Glory (2010) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011). Many of the films he directed/produced are by Paramount, while his television series were co-produced by either Warner Bros. or ABC Studios.