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Abrams also was responsible for successfully rebooting the Star Trek franchise in 2009, with the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, set to hit theaters May 17. Asked to compare the two franchises, Abrams says they are "not that dissimilar."

"Though I came at these both from very different places, where they both meet is a place of ‘Ooh, that’s really exciting,' " he says. "And even though I was never a Star Trek fan, I felt like there was a version of it that would make me excited, that I would think, ‘That’s cool, that feels right, I actually would want to see that.' … The movies, the worlds could not be more different, but that feeling that there’s something amazing here is the thing that they share."

Abrams says he initially was hesitant to direct Star Wars after being approached about the job while working on the Star Trek sequel.

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"But then time went by, and I got further along working on the movie and getting to a place where I had done most of the heavy lifting," he says.

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to hit theaters in 2015.