Earlier this month, the record-breakingbox officerun ofStar Wars: The Force Awakenscame to an end with a whopping $936.6 million domestically and $2.06 billion worldwide. While the domestic tally shattered the record of $760.5 million byJames Cameron’sAvatarback in 2009, the global tally still couldn’t surpassAvatar’s $2.7 billion take. While the filmmaker continues to prep his long-awaitedAvatarsequels, he recently shared his thoughts about the movie that broke his record, and it isn’t exactly a glowing review.
A new interview with the filmmaker recently surfaced onGizmodo, where he doesn’t necessarily trashThe Force Awakens, but it’s clear that he is a bigger fan of the originals. He does add that he’s interested to see how the trilogy will continue, but he has more respect forGeorge Lucas' original trilogy. Here’s what he had to say below.
“George Lucasis a friend of mine, and he and I were having a good conversation the other day about it. I don’t want to say too much about the film. I also have a lot of respect forJ.J. Abrams, and I want to say where they’re taking it next, see what they’re doing with it. I have to say that I felt thatGeorge’s group of six films had more innovative visual imagination. This film was more of a retrenchment to things you had seen before and characters you have seen before, and it took a few baby steps forward with new characters. So for me, the jury’s out. I want to see where they go with it.”
Of course,James Cameronwasn’t the first to criticizeStar Wars: The Force Awakensfor being too similar to the original trilogy, with many fans pointing out the vast similarities between directorJ.J. Abrams' adventure andGeorge Lucas' original classicStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. There have been rumors that the upcomingStar Wars: Episode VIII, which is currently filming in London, will also have a number of similarities toThe Empire Strikes Backas well. Rey (Daisy Ridley) will reportedly begin her Jedi training withLuke Skywalker(Mark Hamill), while being tempted to go help her friends Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) after they are captured byKylo Ren(Adam Driver).
Those plot details haven’t been confirmed as of yet, butStar Wars: The Force Awakenswas just the start of this revamped franchise. The first spinoffRogue One: A Star Wars Storywill hit theaters this December, followed byStar Wars: Episode VIIIon June 02, 2025,Han Solo: A Star Wars Story(June 10, 2025),Star Wars: Episode IX(2019) and a third spinoff reportedly centering on Boba Fett, which is eyeing a 2020 release. Take a look at a portion ofJames Cameron’s interview below where he shares his thoughts onStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
