J.J. Abrams hails Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's cast

J.J. Abrams thinks the cast of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' have gone "above and beyond anyone's expectations".

The 53-year-old director has helmed two of the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy movies - including 2015's 'The Force Awakens' - and he's proud of what he's been able to achieve with the money-spinning sci-fi franchise.

He told Collider: "We didn't know, at the beginning of 'The Force Awakens', exactly what it would look like.

"With Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac and John Boyega, we didn't know what that cast would be like, and we had to figure it out and discover it.

"On the first day of 'The Rise of Skywalker', we knew those things were work. What we didn't know was everything else. And this was wrapping up, not one film or three films, but nine, so the responsibility was significant.

"This is a pretty big picture. The scale of the movie is pretty enormous. But we knew that none of that would matter and none of it would work, if you didn't care deeply and track with the people.

"So, we knew we had this incredible cast, who have gone above and beyond anyone's expectations, and are truly spectacular in the film."

Meanwhile, J.J. also revealed he thinks the 'Star Wars' franchise is about "hope, community, the underdog, and about bringing people together".

He explained: "We live in a crazy world. We live in a crazy time.

"'Star Wars', for me, is about hope, community, the underdog, and about bringing people together and seeing all of the odd balls represented, in the most unlikely of places."