27 Dec – Perhaps the idea of directing two of the most famous sci-fi franchises at once is too hard to swallow for director J.J. Abrams, seeing that he turned down the offer to helm the camera for Disney's upcoming "Star Wars VII", according to Paste Magazine. Abrams, 46, who is still eagerly awaiting the release of his next "Star Trek" film titled, "Star Trek Into Darkness", revealed that he had gone into a discussion with Lucasfilm before on taking over the directorial chair for the new "Star Wars" instalment but ultimately chose to stay out of it. "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," said Abrams. He added, "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." Apart from that, in a recent interview with i09, Abrams revealed some of the details for "Star Trek Into Darkness", including the character traits of the villain and terrorist played by "Sherlock" actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
The New York-born director said, "The characters are a group of people who have recently come together and find themselves up against this incredibly terrifying force." He added, "His name is John Harrison and he is sort of an average - that is what makes him so scary - he is just an average guy who works in an organisation called Starfleet, and he turns against the group because he has got this backstory and this kind of amazing secret agenda." "Star Trek Into Darkness" is set to hit theatres in Malaysia and Singapore on 16 May 2013.