George Lucas has praisedJJ Abramsand declared that he thinks the Star Wars franchise is in safe hands with him.
The veteran filmmaker, who sold the franchise to Disney last year in [uuid=eba0eeb1-56e8-450f-8c5a-c380fb0c0e01]a multi-billion pound deal[/uuid], discussed his successor in the director's chair in an interview with Access Hollywood.
He said: "JJ's a great director, and we're friends. I think he understands the whole thing and how it works. And if he doesn't, [Lucasfilm president] Kathy [Kennedy] will keep it straight."
And he stressed that he is unlikely to be involved in the making of Star Wars Episode VII.
"If they need help or anything, they'll give me a call. Otherwise, I'm off on my own."
The movie is expected to go into production early next year - and Lucas suggested that it was best for Abrams not to over-think the job.
"No matter how you do it, it's a complicated cultural icon. Therefore you're always going to be in trouble no matter what you do.
"So, the best thing you can do is just plough forward and try to do the best story you can."

We told you at the weekend that Disney is reported to be [uuid=214f8e6b-ef91-4e4e-ba7d-06ac6d7162e0]planning a Star Wars Land theme park[/uuid].