With Super 8 Abrams showed the chops to direct an original story, but it’s a film seen through the filter of one of his own favourite directors, Steven Spielberg. While we don’t exactly want Abrams copying George Lucas (Lucas himself tried that with the prequels and couldn’t re-discover his eye), his baked-in knowledge and appreciation for the original trilogy could see him managing something like Irvin Kershner did when he so memorably turned The Empire Strikes Back into the best of the movies. Splicing together what worked about the originals with his own skills could make Episode VII something truly special.