JJ Abrams Considering Dropping Star Wars?

A post from Badass Digest is suggesting the unthinkable - that JJ Abrams is considering dropping out of his dream project of directing Star Wars Episode VII. There is nothing substantiating the report beyond "multiple insiders" so take it with a grain of salt. As lifted from my Star Trek post, I call BS despite what is likely Disney Synergy Hell.

The rumored problems is Abrams is growing more angry with directives from Disney such as being forced to film in England. If true, this could allow Abrams to return to direct Star Trek 3. My first instinct is to call BS on this rumor. To be blunt, I just don't see Abrams turning down a dream job that also likely a financial windfall for him. Chances are he will make more money from directing Star Wars then he will from all his previous movies combined, at least if going by the nearly $100 million paydays that Michael Bay enjoyed for Transformers. I don't see Abrams giving up back end points on profits or a cut of the merchandising that will be sure to drown us by 2015. Nor do I see Paramount caring. I suspect that even if Abrams left Star Wars today, they would not offer the Star Trek 3 director's chair to him.

Having said that, I speculate that up till now Abrams has enjoyed near complete autonomy (by Hollywood standards). Disney simply isn't going give him that same level of control as A) they need a hit as their last several films have failed spectacularly, B) they are determined to get back their $4.05 billion investment in Lucasfilm as soon as possible, preferably with the release of the first film with merchandising, box office and home video sales (they really could recoup that sum with just one film) and C) even if the movie crashes and burns the merchandising along can reap huge rewards. The result is Abrams has a lot of high level egos to deal with from the entire breadth and width of Disney, each with their own demands. While I am sure he is use to high level egos, I doubt he has had to deal with the volume he has to fend off now while dealing with likely constant demands about the budget as Disney loathes to not spend a penny more then they have too. I guarantee he is fending off input from odd sources like adding scenes that could be used as a park attraction or throwing in more aliens for action figures, Lego needs more ship models, and wouldn't it be great if there was a cute cuddly creature like the Ewoks so can start using them in kids toys and park costumes. I suspect he is in synergy hell but he will stick it out.

Update: Lucasfilm has issued a statement denying the rumor: "There is no truth to the rumor. J.J. is having a great time working on the script and is looking forward to going into production next year."