Even William Shatner had some snarky things to say when J.J. Abrams took over the new Star Wars film — but now the former Trek captain has changed his tune about Abrams’ double duty.

Abrams set sci-fi fan bases on fire with news that he would be directing Star Wars: Episode VII — meaning he would likely be too busy to do Star Trek 3 — and Shatner jokingly called him a “pig” for hoarding both franchises for himself back when the news was announced.

But now Shatner has opened up a little more about the news. Despite the fact that he left him out of the rebooted universe, Shatner says he absolutely believes Abrams is the right man for the job on both series.

Here’s an excerpt from his comments to Entertainment Weekly Radio:

“JJ is a terrific director, and he gives you a great ride. He knows how to make the movie large with the special effects and everything. And that's going to be wonderful. It's going to be wonderful for both franchises. He certainly has enlivened Star Trek. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's going to do because he's going to do something different, that's for sure. There are very few people who can make those kinds of movies, to have the sensibility. He's got a lot of wonderful people around him. He'll make a fabulous movie.”

Hey, if you’re looking for an endorsement to calm your nerves on this whole conundrum — you could do a lot worse than Capt. Kirk himself. What do you think? Will all of this turn out well?

(Via Digital Spy)