7 Things We Want From JJ Abrams In 'Star Wars VII'

So, the journey to 'Star Wars VII' is well underway, with 'Star Trek' director JJ Abrams now in place as the helmer of Episode VII, here's seven things we'd like to see in the reboot of the beloved sci-fi franchise.

1. Well done original cast/character cameos: The reboot needs its own identity, and compelling characters of its own, but it would still be great to see well done cameos from at least some of the original cast, passing the baton on to the next generation without imposing on it. A real sense of continuation would help lift the curse of the 'Phantom Menace', but if the veterans are to star, things have to be tastefully done. Plus who doesn't want to see Chewy as an elder statesmen, kicking back with whatever the Wookie equivalent of a pipe and slippers is?

2. A female Han Solo: Princess Leia apart, sci-fi tends to be a bit male-dominated on the hero front. Leia was great, but after Anne Hathaway's tour de force as 'Catwoman' in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. We'd love to see JJ go one better and give us a female lead with ambiguous motives who's a bit naughty as well as heroic.

3. Comedy (Just stay away from Jar Jar!): As an overwrought space opera its often neglected that there's actually a lot of humour in the original trilogy, with C-3PO and R2-D2's double-act, Han and Chewy and the ne'er-do-wells of Eisley spaceport. Get the comedy wrong however, and we all know what you get: Jar Jar Binks.

JJ Abrams is set to helm 'Star Wars VII' (Nikki Nelson/WENN)

4. An incredible villain, preferably cloned from Benedict Cumberbatch: It goes without saying that Darth Vader is in many ways the defining figure of Star Wars, more iconic than its leading hero, Luke. Somehow the likes of Darth Maul and General Grievous in the prequels weren't the same, with Senator Palpatine's neccesary subterfuge making him not a villain in the traditional sense until the final act. Abrams could do worse than casting his 'Star Trek Into Darkness' villain Cumberbatch, or a similar British star like 'The Dark Knight Rises' Tom Hardy as an antagonist we truly fear and remember.

5. Lay off the CGI, even if it annoys George Lucas: Part of the reason fans weren't up in arms when Disney bought the franchise was the thought that they'd never have to watch a computerised dinosaur wander through the back of a scene again.

6. Make it dark, but not too brooding: This may seem to contradict with 3.) but it doesn't have to, somewhere between the darker reverential tone of 'The Dark Knight Rises' and 'Skyfall' and the child-friendly tone of the Marvel films might work. In this respect 'Star Trek Into Darkness' should prove the perfect pre-'Star Wars' project; from what we've seen so far it looks set to (as the title suggests) have a dark core, but still have the slickness and camararderie of the Enterprise crew to ensure things don't get too philosophical.

7.) A genuine surprise: Whether it be in one of the above categories, or something completely different altogether, we want something that makes us look again at the Star Wars Universe, to replicate the dread one felt when blowing up a Death Star looked about as likely as finding a beach resort on Hoth, or the shock of 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Just something that we couldn't have imagined happening in 'Star Wars' before we got into the cinema.

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