It's a safe but solid choice imo.

I'm not Abrams biggest fan, I do have my issues with ST09, but they are mostly linked to the stupid script, not his direction, but I do think that he gets a good performance out of his cast. The kids in Super 8 were great, and on the whole the cast in ST were good too.

The thing is, I don't feel that he has his own voice as a director. He is a great mimic of style (especially Spielberg's) but he hasn't yet brought anything to the table that makes me think 'This is an ABRAMS movie' (lens flares aside). GL, despite his many perceived faults as a director definitely has his own visual stamp, and crams the frame with epic amounts of creativity and imagination.

With Abrams previous rejection of the directors chair for SW VII, I'm of the opinion that maybe he has now seen a draft of the screenplay and really likes what he sees. And this bodes well. A naff SW VII would surely be career suicide for any director, why would he risk his 'reputation' on this movie, he must know (if he is as big an SW's fan as he says he is) that every single second of screen time, every frame will be under the most intense scrutiny from SW's fans and critics alike?