A question that has stunted many philosophers and scholars throughout the ages—who will direct Star Wars 7?—was finally answered earlier this week with the news that J.J. Abrams will be taking the helm of the new Star Wars film.  The revelation was met with an even amount of joy, outrage, and confusion by the fan community, as one man will now be crossing the streams of Star Wars and Star Trek.

With anticipation for Abrams’ sequel Star Trek Into Darkness at a fever pitch (and the film poised to do big, big box office), Paramount is likely eager to get a third Star Trek film into production sooner rather than later.  The studio’s vice chairman has now spoken up to ease fans’ concern over Abrams’ other franchises, clarifying the filmmaker’s role in Star Trek 3 and Mission: Impossible 5 going forward.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Speaking with Hero Complex, Paramount Vice Chariman Rob Moore seems confident that Abrams will still be heavily involved with the studio’s other franchises:

“J.J. will continue to develop projects for us including a new Mission: Impossible, and he is committed to produce another Star Trek.”

Moore notes that Abrams will be involved with the inevitable Trek 3 “at the minimum as a producer, if not also directing the film,” though with Star Wars: Episode VII set to hit theaters in 2015, I have a hard time believing Paramount will want to wait that long before Abrams can be fully committed to developing another Trek sequel to direct.  I imagine his involvement with Trek 3 will likely mirror his role on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol: help steer the broader strokes of the film’s story and handpick the director.  That said, Abrams did wait four years in between the first Trek and Into Darkness, so it's also conceivable that he could return to helm Trek 3.

We should keep in mind, though, that Star Wars: Episode VII will be no easy task—especially with that targeted 2015 release date looming.  Abrams will likely have less time to devote to his other producorial efforts, so don’t expect him to have a heavy hand in anything other than Star Wars for the next two years.  In the meantime, though, we have the director’s highly anticipated next movie to look forward to in a couple of months, as Star Trek Into Darkness opens in 3D on May 17th.

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