James Cameron Throws Shade at J.J. Abrams' Directing in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' Says Film Lacks 'Visua

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It's safe to say that James Cameron is not a fan of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In a recent interview posted to YouTube on Sunday, the Oscar-winning director opened up on the J.J. Abrams film, and slammed the reboot for its lack of "visual imagination."


WATCH: 'The Force Awakens' Director J.J. Abrams Reveals Which 'Star Wars' Music Cue Made Him Cry

"For me, the jury is out," Cameron said in the interview, revealing he's told pal George Lucas what he thinks of the new film. "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."

Shade thrown.

To be fair, Cameron did buffer the blow by saying he had "a lot of respect" for Abrams, and is curious to see where the series is headed.

Watch the moment in the video below: 

While Cameron admits he's not a fan of the series, he's not oblivious to the fact that literally everyone else is (see Obamas, royals and Chewbacca mom). The director is trying to keep his upcoming Avatar sequels as far, far away from Star Wars as he possibly can.  

"My original plan was to release them a year apart, but we're opening that up. If for no other reason than that I don't want to land on the same date as one of the Star Wars sequels," he said in April.

Cameron's Avatar 2 is slated for a December 2018 release, with later films set to release in 2020, 2022 and 2023. While the next Star Wars sequel, Episode VIII, will release in December 2017, spinoff film Rogue Oneis set to release this December.


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Rogue One
, directed by Gareth Edwards, will be set shortly after the events of A New Hope, and follow a group of rebel spies as they try to stop the Galactic Empire. Perhaps a new director and new characters will provide the "innovation" Cameron so craves, and bring him back from the dark side.

Find out everything you need to know about Rogue One in the video below.