--- title: James Cameron Pans J.J. Abrams Star Wars Directing description: The Avatar director says Abrams' directing lacked "visual imagination." canonical: https://time.com/4386973/james-cameron-jj-abrams-star-wars/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-29T12:41:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:55:43.642Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: James Cameron Pans J.J. Abrams Directing in Star Wars og:description: He said the film lacked "visual imagination" og:url: https://time.com/4386973/james-cameron-jj-abrams-star-wars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dba46b31cc5fde/69885812428a9efad7ccddd2/94670458.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Premiere Of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Cameron Pans J.J. Abrams Directing in Star Wars twitter:description: He said the film lacked "visual imagination" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71dba46b31cc5fde/69885812428a9efad7ccddd2/94670458.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # James Cameron Throws Shade At J.J. Abrams' Directing in _Star Wars_ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 29, 2016 12:41 PM UTC  Director James Cameron, singer Leona Lewis and composer James Horner arrive at the premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2009 in Hollywood, California Director James Cameron, singer Leona Lewis and composer James Horner arrive at the premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on December 16, 2009 in Hollywood, CaliforniaKevin Winter—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 29, 2016 12:41 PM UTC James Cameron is [not so fond](http://www.thewrap.com/james-cameron-star-wars-the-force-awakens/) of J.J. Abrams directing of _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_. Cameron, who directed _Avatar_ and _Titanic_, was asked about the film during an interview and said candidly that it lacked “visual imagination” and that he had recently discussed the [Disney blockbuster](http://time.com/money/4227901/star-wars-the-force-ticket-sales-slow/) with the series’ original director George Lucas. “I have to say that I felt that George’s group of six films had more innovative visual imagination, and this film was more a retrenchment to things you had seen before and characters you had seen before,” Cameron said in an interview spotted on YouTube by _The Wrap_. Cameron does point earlier in the interview that he has “a lot of respect” for Abrams and has said previously that he did not want to release the upcoming _Avatar_ sequel, scheduled for December 2018, at the same time as any of the _Star Wars_ movies. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4386973/james-cameron-jj-abrams-star-wars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4386973/james-cameron-jj-abrams-star-wars/"},"headline":"James Cameron Throws Shade At J.J. 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