JJ Abrams Relieved By Star Wars Episode VII Delay

JJ Abramshas expressed his relief that the release date for Star Wars Episode VII has been pushed back to the end of 2015.

The director has been speaking to MTV News - and suggested that the delay will allow him and his team the time they need to do a proper job.

"Before I even came onto the project, they were talking about 2015," he said. "And they made this announcement very early on, which I understand.

"But it didn't necessarily have anything to do with the reality of where anything was creatively. I think that it's a hugely important thing that [the creative process] come first.

"A release date is great, but you have to release something great. To me, the new release date is a huge improvement."

Open auditions for the lead roles in the new movie were recently held in London and Dublin.

And Abrams has also recently confirmed that much-loved droid R2-D2 will feature in the new film.