Shortly after Episode 7 was announced, Abrams spoke to Empire magazine about his name being raised as a potential director for the film. He remarked regarding his declining the eventual offer:
I quickly said that because of my loyalty to Star Trek, and also just being a fan, I wouldnt even want to be involved in the next version of those things. I declined any involvement very early on. Id rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.
So, does this 180 mean that J.J. has essentially eaten his words? He no longer has loyalty to Star Trek? One can readily assume that something in the pre-production process must have swung him considerably - perhaps Michael Arndt's in-progress script really is that good - but still, if there's something studios and fans like, it's a little consistency. Nobody wants to think that the guy helming the next Star Wars film is going to be a flake or won't be 110% invested in it; though Abrams has proven himself confident beyond his years in the director's chair, the pressure of a Star Wars film is something else entirely, as all of the world's eyes will be on him, which is more than could be said for his Star Trek reboot.