J.J. Abrams was recently part of a Vanity Fair talk with producer Brian Grazer and Apple’s Jony Ive. In addition to telling the story of how he turned it down at first yet again, he also confirms that he has final cut on The Force Awakens – although Disney being Disney, the contract would allow otherwise.
He also praises the Disney folks, saying “I cannot say enough about how Bog Iger and Alan Horn have understood this thing that is now part of the Disney company. And they’re not trying to Disney-fy it, they’re not doing anything other than, I think, an incredibly smart thing, which is letting Kathleen Kennedy — who is a remarkable person and producer — run and lead Lucasfilm to a place where I think it wants to go. They let us make the movie we wanted to make.” (via)