J.J. Abrams says huge franchises are a “double-edged sword" ahead of Superman


J.J. Abrams has been involved in huge franchises for over two decades now. The filmmaker is responsible for bringing Star Trek and Star Wars back to the big screen. With those two franchises in the bag, Abrams is working on DC's new Superman reboot.

With Warner Bros attempting to put the SnyderVerse in the rear-view mirror, J.J. Abrams will be responsible for bringing Superman back. Reported to be the first black on-screen Superman, the filmmaker will be tasked with planning out the future of the franchise.

J.J. Abrams says huge franchises are a “double-edged sword"

J.J. Abrams hasn't had a smooth ride bringing huge franchises to the big screen. While his 2009 Star Trek film was a success, his 2011 sequel was a massive disappointment. The same can be said of his Star Wars work; the director helmed a formulaic revival and dropped the ball when directing Rise of Skywalker.

In an interview with Collider, Abrams was asked what is exciting about helping to steer the direction of the DCEU. The filmmaker didn't respond about DC specifically, but instead explained that huge franchises, such as Star Wars, are not easy to create.

“I'll say that the opportunity to get to work on any pre-existing franchise is definitely a double-edged sword,” Abrams explained. “While I'm incredibly grateful and proud to have been involved in the projects, of course, all I see is what things could have been and what we might have done. The importance of it is not lost on me, as temporary custodians of any ideas, whether they pre-exist us or not, which is to say I think that even with an original idea, somehow I still don't quite understand where that creative impulse comes from and how the experience of writing something really is yours. I feel like we're all just channelling something that we're trying to serve, as opposed to something that we are doing and that is our work.”

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Abrams is just an architect for the DCEU

Zack Snyder was not just an architect for the first version of the DCEU, but also the primary director. Snyder was only integral to planning the future of DC, but also character casting, writing and directing.

On the other side, Abrams will only be a producer for the new version of Warner Bros' superhero movies. The filmmaker's description as a “temporary custodian" of the IP shows that he's just on board to help plan out the series.

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