20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: The Force Awakens
12. It Took Over A Month Of Negotiations Before J.J. Abrams Agreed To Direct
Believe it or not, J.J. Abrams didn't immediately jump at the chance to direct the film after Brad Bird proved unavailable. Rather, he initially turned the gig down, because in his own words he feared becoming pigeonholed as "the guy who does sequels."
Yet Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy was steadfast in her commitment to bringing Abrams aboard, and so began a month's worth of negotiations where she eventually convinced him to sign up.
According to Abrams, Kennedy laid down some impactful words which helped sway him:
"If you want to do this and you don't, you're going to regret this."
The possible FOMO was seemingly overpowering enough that Abrams couldn't say no, and that was that.