It broke a couple of days ago, and now Disney and Lucasfilm have made it official.
J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.
“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”
George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller. He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”
“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”
J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.
Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi. Kinberg was writer on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have a proven track record of blockbuster movies that feature complex action, heartfelt drama, iconic heroes and fantastic production values with such credits as Star Trek, Super 8, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, and this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams has worked with Lucasfilm’s preeminent postproduction facilities, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, on all of the feature films he has directed, beginning with Mission: Impossible III. He also created or co-created such acclaimed television series as Felicity, Alias, Lost and Fringe.
8 Comments
Any new Star Wars is good in my book. I’m Interested in what the new guardians of the Star Wars universe will bring to the silver screen. Will miss the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning.
I have a very bad feeling about this, just like people saying Johnny Depp for the role of Han Solo. shivers down my spine
Color me appalled.
Are J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon the only guys who can direct sci-fi?
So JJ can take another carefully built up universe and turn it into something that makes no sense like his Star Trek
part of that I blame the writers for
You seem to confuse “randomly put together, but somehow still functioning”, “with carefully built” : )
As a Tekkie I liked it, re-started the dead franchise (Enterprise was … painful to watch) without spitting in the face of the past, which is a pretty hard thing to do.
A good fit, in my opinion. The story that he told in his Star Trek movie was much better suited to a Star Wars movie.