J.J. Abrams revealed that he has no plans to direct the number ofDCprojects that he is producing. Instead, the 54-year-old director-screenwriter wants to tackle original projects in the future.
Abrams' Bad Robot production companyis developing several DC-related shows and films for Warner Bros. under a reported $500 million deal with WarnerMedia. The filmmaker is working on aJustice League DarkandConstantineseries for HBO Max as well as a Superman film reboot from acclaimed author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. Abrams and Coates are reportedly searching for a Black filmmaker to direct the highly-anticipated blockbuster.
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In a recent interview withCollider, Abrams said he isn’t interested in directing the DC projects that he is currently developing because, when it comes to directing, his focus lies in original content. “I feel like, as someone who started writing in television and telling original stories on film and in TV, it is something that I really do miss,” said Abrams, while adding, “I just feel, as a director, I really would love to have my next projects be things that didn’t pre-exist me necessarily.” Over the past decade, Abrams directed sequels likeMission: Impossible III,Star Trek Into Darkness, andStar Wars: The Force Awakens. While he created original series' likeFelicityandAlias, 2011’sSuper 8remains the only original film he’s directed to date.
Abrams added that tackling projects based on existing IPs has both favorable and unfavorable consequences. Many of the reboot franchises that he has worked on in the past had long-standing and passionate fan bases that weren’t scared to voice their opinions. Both critics and fans notably crushed the filmmaker’s latest film,Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. “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,” asserted Abrams. The director noted that, when it comes to pre-existing franchises, he doesn’t feel as though the work is truly his given that someone else has conceived the original idea.
While Abrams doesn’t have any original films on the pipeline,his new series titledDemimondewas picked up by HBO and it will be the first show he’s created since Fox’sFringeand NBC’s short-livedThe Undercovers.Kira Snyder, Rand Ravich, and Far Shariat were named co-showrunners of the series in 2018. The upcoming sci-fi fantasy drama will follow the world’s battle against a monstrous, oppressive force. Abrams has yet to announce whenDemimondewill premiere onHBO.
Naturally, fans of the properties Abrams is adapting may be skeptical since the previous films he’s tackled, including theStar Warssequels and theStar Trekreboot, were initially praised only for the reception towards later installments to be far more divisive. However, considering DC has arguably been struggling to provide films that appeal to fans of all kinds, perhaps Abrams can give Warner Bros. a boost they seem to desperately need.
