I'm as worried about new Trek and new Wars feeling to similar as the next guy, but I feel you have to look at this from a strictly Episode VII perspective.

Seriously, think about it. By the time it comes out, it will have been 32 years since Return of the Jedi. Would you really want to wait 32 years for the sequel to ROTJ, and have it be bad? With J.J. Abrams, you're assured a good Star Wars film.

So maybe in the context of the current cinematic landscape, this idea might feel stale, by in the context of the Star Wars franchise itself, this is a solid choice.

Anyway, I've begun calling this Star Wars Episode VII: The Best One Since the Eighties.

Also, to anyone mad that Abrams originally refused the job: he's not the first to initially refuse then accept the job of directing a Star Wars sequel. And the other one was not Richard Marquand.