In a public conversation as part of the ongoing Tribeca Film Festival, Chris Rock and J.J. Abrams spoke about several topics—including the possibility of making a TV show together.
The event was part of the Tribeca Talks segment of the festival, and it makes complete sense that the two, highly successful figures were put together. Rock is coming fresh out of his successful Oscars hosting gig, and Abrams, well, he has Star Wars. But before the two inevitably spoke about the franchise, they chatted—in a very joke-y, light, but still exciting way—about collaborating on a television series.
"I’m probably a single-camera show," Rock said. "My skill set is multi-camera, but what’s gonna keep me interested, keep me intrigued, in doing 50-whatever shows is probably single camera."
Abrams seemed to agree and at one point made a clever observation that would have us pretty elated. "A Louie show, a Louie kind of thing, that would be amazing for you," he suggested. Before handling the Star Trek films and now working on Star Wars, Abrams had a pretty successful TV career, creating early 2000 hits such as Felicity and Alias. While neither follow the 30-minute, single camera idea, we'd still like to see him work in this format.
Despite giving a little focus on working together and on television in general, the conversation (naturally) ended up being about Star Wars, probably because Episode VIII, which will be directed by Rian Johnson, is currently in development. Abrams spoke about the larger than life fan base for the film and his other major franchise, Star Trek, which prompted Rock to joke about another world he wishes Abrams would take on.
"Could you direct Fantastic Four?” Rock asked. “I love the Fantastic Four, and they keep f—ing it up." The last Fantastic Four film, which was released last year, was overwhelmingly panned and did poorly at the box office.
At one point in the conversation an audience member couldn't resist but ask Abrams about Stars Wars: The Force Awakens standout Rey, whose past remains a mystery to fans. While some have speculated that Rogue One, the independent but still related Star Wars film may provide some clues to her origins, Abrams didn't offer many clues about her family. The director, who serves as executive producer of the next film in the series, wouldn't give much.
"Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII, so I can’t possibly in this moment tell you who they are. But this is all I will say: It is something that Rey thinks about too." Well, duh.
The two went on to speak about people they would like to work with and Rock spoke about his ideal projects and how he would love to direct Denzel Washington in a comedy, which, frankly, sounds like an incredible idea.
