J.J. Abrams

And in other, totally unsurprising Star Wars: Episode IX news… Following this morning’s announcement that J.J. Abrams is returning to direct (and co-write) the trilogy finale comes word that the release date has been pushed back seven months from May 24, 2019 to December 20. Meanwhile, despite a change in directors and Ron Howard’s ongoing reshoots, the Han Solo spinoff weirdly remains the one Star Wars property that won’t be released in December.

Carrie lives! Well, sort of. Stephen King alum Sissy Spacek is now the latest to join Hulu’s King-Abrams anthology series Castle Rock, whose 10-episode production begins later this year.

No revival seems off the table anymore, and certainly Alias produced enough star power to consider the possibility. Potential new episodes have even gotten so far up the chain as to reach creator J.J. Abrams, according to executive producer Josh Appelbaum.

The Oscars haven’t even been over for a day, and already the predictions for next year are rolling in. The latest comes from J.J. Abrams, director of The Force Awakens, who doesn’t know for sure who’s winning at next year’s Academy Awards, but he thinks Mark Hamill should.

J.J. Abrams made his bed, stuffed it with money and gold bricks, but now he‘d rather not lie in it. The director has risen to the top of Hollywood’s most-wanted list in recent years as a serviceable conductor of franchise pictures; he did right by the Mission: Impossible series, then moved on to mount the massive Star Trek resurgence, and brought Star Wars back to the grateful people of Earth with Episode VII. But this whole money-in-the-bank reputation comes with its downsides. Speaking with People, Abrams indicated that he‘s had his fill of franchise pictures and would prefer to explore some original concepts in the years to come.

It’s been some time since ABC’s LOST was a matter of regular discussion, but one of the more famous points of trivia saw Michael Keaton earmarked for the role of Jack Shephard, with a caveat that his character be killed off as a pilot twist. That obviously never came to pass, though Keaton finally explains why the change came about, as well as his decision to decline the role.

J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield universe is quickly becoming one of the more interesting cinematic universes. Instead of stringing together a series of connected sequels and spinoffs à la the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, the 2008 found footage thriller has spawned something a little more ambiguous. This year saw the surprise release of Bad Robot’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, which was less a sequel to the 2008 movie and more of a blood relative. And now we finally have confirmation of what the third film in the Clover-verse will be.

Just when you thought Fred Armisen’s deleted SNL finale sketch the last of Season 41 to hold you over for summer, in swoops a bonus round of celebrity Star Wars auditions! SNL dusted off the November sketch for another round, this time including Matthew McConaughey, along with impressive impressions the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Shia LaBeouf and more.

Last night, J.J. Abrams participated in a Q&A with Chris Rock at the Tribeca Film Festival, where topics ranged from superhero films to lens flares to — inevitably — Star Wars: The Force Awakens. When asked if Rey’s parents are in the film, Abrams basically said no, sending fans into a speculation spiral as they crossed Han Solo, Luke and Leia off their lists and prepared to begin a new chapter in their theorizing. But then Abrams clarified his comments in a later statement, taking us right back to where we started with this whole crazy speculation game.

J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot’s God Particle is picking up some steam, and following last year’s recruitment of newcomer Julius Onah to direct the long-developing sci-fi thriller, the project has found a pair of impressive actors. Selma’s David Oyelowo and Beyond the Lights star Gugu Mbatha-Raw will play the lead roles in God Particle, which will finally begin shooting sometime this year for a 2017 release.

Much has been made of the diversity in the new era of Star Wars, with J.J. Abrams smartly casting the franchise’s first black and female leading characters in John Boyega’s Finn and Daisy Ridley’s Rey. They weren’t the only diverse part of The Force Awakens, which boasted a noticeably varied assortment of genders and ethnicities in its supporting and extras casting, but many fans are still wondering when — or if — we might see an openly gay character in the newly inclusive franchise. According to J.J. Abrams, it will happen, and soon.

Reports began to surface this evening via social media that a trailer for Bad Robot’s upcoming mystery project is attached to screenings of Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The film is titled 10 Cloverfield Lane, and while many suspect it’s a secret Cloverfield sequel, there is some evidence to support that this not quite true, including a statement from J.J. Abrams himself. So what is 10 Cloverfield Lane, exactly?