JJ Abrams thought Star Wars would hurt his career

JJ Abrams initially thought directing 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' would hurt his career. The director of the blockbuster movie - which sees Harrison Ford reprise his role as Hans Solo and is set to be the UK's highest-grossing ever film - confessed he wasn't up for the job when Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy first asked him to do it. The director - who didn't want to be known as "the guy who does sequels" explained: "When Kathy called I did something I don't normally do, which is look at my career. I really did feel like 'that sounds like the wrong idea'." But after mulling over his options with his wife, Katie McGrath, he realised it would actually be "incredible". The 49-year-old film-maker told The Times: "I wanted people to feel the magic of what Star Wars was: the sense of romance, the sense of heart, the loyalty, the sweetness, the friendship, the unexpected scenarios, the discoveries the characters make, the sense of impossible scale made possible," Abrams said. "I saw the original trilogy and I thought if there was any way to be part of bringing that back, it would be incredible. Katie said, 'If you want to do this and you don't, you're going to regret this'."