A self-confessed Star Wars fan, Abrams said he would have to try to mitigate his "geeky fan-boy" feelings about his forthcoming project.

"It's just about about approaching it from as authentic a place as possible, and not trying to apply what you believe or think, as much as trying to filter everything and get at it from the core of the characters.

"[It should be] what you deeply want to see, never what you assume the fans might like."