J.J. Abrams had one requirement while making 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

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JJ Abrams Star Wars

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J.J. Abrams wields a red lightsaber.

Director J.J. Abrams is in a rare position. Not only did he have the chance to reboot the "Star Trek" franchise back in 2009, but now he's also bringing the first of several new "Star Wars" films to fans.

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It's a task which can be daunting for any director to undertake.

In a new interview with Wired, Abrams said he tried not to let previous films influence his work on "The Force Awakens." Instead, the director looked at some of the mistakes he made in older works and tried to avoid making those again.

"For example, I didn't want to enter into making a movie where we didn't really own our story. I feel like I've done that a couple of times in my career," Abrams told Wired. "That's not to say I'm not proud of my work, but the fact is I remember starting to shoot 'Super 8' and 'Star Trek Into Darkness' and feeling like I hadn't really solved some fundamental story problems."

With that in mind, Abrams said he had one requirement when he started work on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

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"I tried to not forget the mistakes I'd made, but I also tried to focus on things that I find inspiring about cinema," he said. "I asked questions like, 'How do we make this movie delightful?' That was really the only requirement Larry and I imposed on each other: The movie needed to be delightful."

One way Abrams did that was by incorporating more practical effects into the film. Many new creatures were made specifically for "The Force Awakens."

JJ Abrams puppet, Star Wars Episode VII_edited 1

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Abrams with one of the new creatures, Bobbajo.

Rey and BB-8 in The Force Awakens

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Even the new droid BB-8 is a working puppet, controlled by two men. Several different versions of the little droid were made for filming.

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"It was not about explaining everything away, not about introducing a certain number of toys for a corporation, not about trying to appease anyone," Abrams added. "This has only ever been about what gets us excited."

You can read the full article in Wired here.