JJ has been a derivative hack in everything I've seen from him, so I won't give him the benefit of the doubt here.
But hopefully slightly less of a derivative hack this time assuming TLJ sends it in a slightly different direction.
Rogue One was also pretty rife with references. It might just be a studio thing at this point.
Oh there's definitely some studio involvement there. I think some things were already set for TFA before JJ even started. And it was probably part of the reworking of Rogue One. That stuff is fun to a degree when it's incidental, but when it gets too coincidental, it takes me out of it a bit. Like pig man happening to be on that planet in Rogue One just before it explodes.
Star Trek 2009 and Into Darkness were derivative of ST2:Wrath of Kahn. Whether that is studios, Abrams and/or him being a company guy is unknown.
Disney's choices to me point to them being safe, and playing up nostalgia with this franchise. They gutted Lucas' ideas for TFA. The director swaps and/or reshoots, or time extensions point to conflicting visions. Or visions too far off the beloved SW reservation. Not even attacking Lucas here- he did something different for the prequels. Whatever the opinion of them, he took a known conclusion and created a backstory that wasn't a reboot. So the Mouse rejects Lucas' consultation, reshoots chunks of Rouge One (and won't release them), removes two directors. And bring back a guy who did a New Hope pt.2.
So far then, we have; a beat-matched TFA, Rogue One which is based in episode 4-6 canon, a Han film based around ep4-6 canon, a rumored Fett film based on primarily 4-6 canon character, a ? in episode 8 but Driver already made the Empire comparison, and bringing back the beat-match master for 9. It seems to me then that Disney wants a franchise based in the episode 4-6 only world.
*sigh.* I'm not even into the characters of Disney's other cash-cow, the MCU. But Feige has been masterful there IMO.