J.J. Abrams has become synonymous with relaunching properties with great success. Certainly he's been better at it than others with Star Trek, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Westworld. But he's tired of reviving the prior works of others, and while speaking with People at the Golden Globes he says that it will only be original stuff from now on.
“You know, I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten involved in things that I loved when I was a kid. In fact, even ‘Westworld, which we’re here for tonight, is one of them. But I don’t feel any desire to do that again. I feel like I’ve done enough of that that I’m more excited about working on things that are original ideas that perhaps one day someone else will have to reboot.”
While fans have mostly grown tired of seeing all of their childhood favorites revived over and over again, Abrams sees it as a natural part of storytelling that won't be going away...
“…film is a fairly young medium and there are stories that have lasted for centuries. And it’s not uncommon, I think, for stories to be retold — whether it’s at campfire or on film, but I think you always have to be additive. You can’t just be remaking something just for the sake of remaking it.”
We'll see how long this lasts. I imagine not for long. Somebody will come calling (I bet he does the next Indiana Jones or something.) with another of Abrams' favorites and it will be too good to turn down.
