It's no secret that J.J. Abrams likes his secrets. Most conversations about the filmmaker are likely to include the term "mystery box," referring to his tendency to keep details of his movies under lock and key.

That was certainly the case with Star Trek Into Darkness, and the question surrounding the identity of Benedict Cumberbatch's villain. But will that same approach work for Star Wars: Episode VII? Perhaps not, according to Abrams himself.

"We were trying to preserve the unexpected for the audience, but it came across as if we were trying to be too clever," he told The Daily Telegraph about the Cumberbatch-Khan reveal in Star Trek Into Darkness. "Star Wars is in every way a different animal. It's always been a more open, fan-engaged universe than I've been used to, so I'm sure there'll be some sort of compromise."

But even if Abrams is willing to "compromise" on his desired levels of secrecy, the filmmaker is still closely guarding his Star Wars plans.

"I'm working on the Star Wars script today and the people in my office have covered up all my windows with black paper. I guess they wanted to make sure no one could see what I was doing," he said. "It seems rather extreme."

"We're living in a moment of instant information and a sense of entitlement to that information," he added, weighing in on his "mystery box" philosophy. "But I think it's nice to remember that there's nothing wrong with a sense of anticipation."

Star Wars: Episode VII arrives on Dec. 18, 2015.