ALL HAIL the king of the nerds.
Filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who is already behind the reboot of "Star Trek," will also be behind the next edition of "Star Wars."
According to the website "The Wrap," Abrams will follow up "Star Trek Into Darkness" with "Episode VII" of the "Star Wars" franchise, scheduled to reach theaters in 2015.
Fans already have begun lining up at Comic-Con with their lightsabers.
Abrams previously told reporters that he would not be involved with the "Star Wars" franchise, but can you really trust the guy who plotted "Lost"?
Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for "Little Miss Sunshine," will write the script for "Star Wars: Episode VII" and we sure hope that means Alan Arkin as Yoda.
* In other geek-related news, Ian McKellen (Magneto of "X-Men" and Gandalf of "Lord of the Rings") and Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and Professor X of "X-Men") will team up on Broadway this fall in two of the most iconic plays of the 20th century.
Producers announced Thursday that Stewart and McKellen will star in Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" and Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," which will play in repertory under the direction of Sean Mathias.
The Broadway theater, performance dates, the two supporting actors and the schedule of performances will be announced later.
Stewart and McKellen starred in a production of "Waiting for Godot" in London's West End in 2009. Prior to Broadway, they'll tackle "No Man's Land" in an as-yet-unspecified out-of-town tryout this summer.
* In an online video posted Thursday by the YouTube account of Michael Buble's wife, Luisana Lopilato, a sonogram with the words "Mini Buble!!!" is shown. The 20-second video ends up with words: "We're having a baby Buble!!!!"
The 37-year-old Canadian singer and his 25-year-old Argentine actress-wife were married in 2011.
That baby's lullabies are going to swing.
* Censors in China have chopped 38 minutes from the 172-minute "Cloud Atlas," deleting both gay and straight love scenes.
Based on American reviews of the film, Tattle assumed that the cuts would make the film 38 minutes less confusing, but moviegoers who saw the censored version were baffled by the edits, which also deleted a character's line about having been tortured by Chinese security agents.
"Now I know why I was so confused when I watched it, and not able to connect each scene," a moviegoer, Gao Yuan, said on her Sina Weibo. "It's not worth watching any good movies if they cut them like this. Maybe just don't import it."
* Afraid the levee would be dry, Don McLean took his Chevy (actually a Chrysler) there - a little too quickly.
The "American Pie" singer has paid a $400 fine for zooming through a school zone in Rockport, Maine.
McLean had contested the charge in September, saying that school-zone warning lights weren't flashing. He had requested a trial.
Police said during a 40-minute proceeding in Rockland District Court on Thursday that the warning lights were flashing.
Judge Patricia Worth found that McLean had been speeding in a school zone in Rockport. But she lowered what would be a $515 fine if uncontested to $400.
McLean immediately paid up.
* According to the Los Angeles
Times, HBO's much-lauded but overrated show "Girls" has been renewed for a third season.
"We're starting season three at the end of March. I'm so excited," creator/ producer/director/writer/gaffer/caterer Lena Dunham told Alec Baldwin on the podcast you didn't know he had.
Lena also told Baldwin that she has a six-year contract with HBO, meaning her "Girls" may eventually grow into "Women."
- Daily News wire services contributed to this report.
Email gensleh@phillynews.com.
