It might have seemed strange to some but J.J Abrams taking over the good ship Star Wars is A-ok with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. In footballing terms this might have seemed akin to Brendan Rodgers managing both Liverpool and Man Utd at the same time but Shatner thinks that Abrams will be just 'fabulous', dahling.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly Radio, Shatner (who Wikipedia tells me is 82, if that's true he looks amazing) praised Abrams saying, 'J.J is a terrific director, and he gives you a great ride.'

He went on to say, 'It's going to be wonderful for both franchises. He certainly has enlivened Star Trek. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's going to do because he's going to do something different, that's for sure."

Touching on how big a role Abrams was taking on in agreeing to direct a Star Wars film, Shatner stated that 'There are very few people who can make those kinds of movies, to have the sensibility,' but that he felt confident in Abrams because, 'He’s got a lot of wonderful people around him.'

It was surprising to hear Shatner talk about Abrams in such glowing terms as he had referred to the Lost co-creator as a 'pig' earlier in the year.

It'd be great to have another celebrity beef just as the Kimmel Kanye war of Autumn 2013 has ended but it seems that Shatner was of course just joking.

Abrams directed the critically acclaimed Star Trek Into Darkness which came out at the start of the Summer. In January it was announced that he would be taking over the Star Wars franchise with the latest instalment, Star Wars: Episode VII, due for release sometime in 2015.