JJ Abrams named the two biggest influences on his career

His status as a director was initially just as solid. After getting the job to direct Mission: Impossible III, Abrams turned the reputation of the franchise around after the second instalment in the series was poorly received. He went on to revive Star Trek with the successful 2009 reboot and directed its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, which became the highest-grossing film in the franchise’s history, and in between, he showed he was still capable of telling original stories with the brilliant sci-fi adventure Super 8.

It was venturing into the galaxy far, far away that both took his career to the next level and broke it. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was as perfect a legacy sequel as possible, and immediately earned Abrams a lot of positive sentiments, and while he spent the next few years producing television and films within the Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Cloverfield franchises, his return to direct Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was so heavily criticised that it took seven years for him to get back into the director’s chair.

Few would argue that he isn’t a genius when it comes to introducing new and memorable characters, be it Jack, played by Matthew Fox, in Lost, Sydney, played by Jennifer Garner, in Alias, or Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, in The Force Awakens; however, this style of storytelling, according to Abrams, is based on his affinity for the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

“Aristotle (is) the structure, the paradigm of storytelling,” he said, “The most fundamental rules. You can colour it and decorate it and complicate it and talk about it, but it comes down to ‘what is your story? What is the beginning? Where are you going?”

Given the many twists and turns that have popped up in Abrams’ films and shows, it is no surprise that he considers himself to be a massive fan of The Twilight Zone, but his affinity for the classic science fiction anthology goes beyond fandom, as he has a deep respect for the style of narrative prose that was pioneered by its beloved creator, Rod Serling.

“Rod Serling, for me, is the inspiration for a number of reasons, but fundamentally, he understood that amazing combination of pure pulp and deep character,” Abrams said, “The respect he had for character and the audience was enormous. He would write about things that mattered to him in allegory and tell tales about aliens and monsters, but they were almost always about subjects that mattered to him.”

Hearing him speak with passion about his influences is a reminder of how many great things he’s been involved in, and suggests that he took the blame for The Rise of Skywalker fiasco, which wasn’t entirely his fault, so hopefully, Abrams’ new film, The Great Beyond, will silence his doubters and mark the return of a powerful storyteller.