J.J. Abrams to direct ‘Star Wars Episode VII’

 

J.J. Abrams has been confirmed as the man to take the helm of the latest instalment of the Star Wars series, Star Wars: Episode VII (as yet untitled). Abrams who is no stranger to the sci-fi genre, is set to direct the highly-anticipated first sequel under Disney, who took over the franchise in October last year.

Sources at TheWrap.com have confirmed that the man behind Star Trek and Super 8 will definitely be directing despite stating in 2012 that he had no intention of being involved. Since the announcement of a new Star Wars film was made back in October, with a tentative release date of 2015, many possible directors had been thrown into the mix, including Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon, Jon Favreau and Darren Aronofsky (with George Lucas ruling himself out from the very beginning). With Star Trek receiving mixed reviews, the news of Abrams being on board with Episode VII may have Jedi-fans across the globe wincing (lens flare anyone?)

Whilst not much more is known about the sequel, what we do know is that Oscar-winner Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) will be behind the screenplay. Kathleen Kennedy (President of former franchise owners Lucasfilm) has also been confirmed as executive producer, and fear not; George Lucas hasn’t completely stepped away and will be involved as a creative consultant. Both Lucas and Disney have confirmed that Episode VII will be an original story, most probably based on the novels that followed Return of the Jedi while original cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford have all stated a desire to return to the franchise, though cast members have yet to be announced.