JJ Abrams And Lawrence Kasdan Brought In To Rewrite Episode VII Script

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PopWrapped Admin

Published

October 25, 2013

Clare Sidoti

Managing Editor

Hopefully all is fine in the Star Wars Episode VII camp as it was announced yesterday (October 24) that writer, Michael Arndt, has left the project.

JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan have been drafted in to rewrite the episode from the script produced by the Little Miss Sunshine writer. The rewrite is in good hands though. Abrams has spoken often of his love of the franchise and his investment in making as authentic a Star Wars film as possible and Kasdan co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi from the original trilogy. Kasdan had already been involved with Episode VII in a consultative role before taking on the rewrite.

In discussing Abrams and Kasdan taking control of the script, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and JJ working on the script.
“There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. JJ of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right.”

Kennedy was also complimentary to the work Arndt had done on the project, adding, “Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.”

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Filming is meant to begin in January 2014. Whether the script rewrites will have an impact on the filming start date is yet to be seen. However, StarWars.com states that filming will begin in Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

In addition to the news that Abrams and Kasdan were working on the script, the creative team were also announced:
“A team of gifted artists are working to bring the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, including director of photography Dan Mindel (Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness), production designers Rick Carter (Lincoln, Avatar, Forrest Gump) and Darren Gilford (Oblivion, TRON: Legacy), costume designer Michael Kaplan (Star Trek Into Darkness, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Fight Club),special effects supervisor Chris Corbould (Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception), sound designer Ben Burtt (Lincoln, Wall-E, Star Wars: Episodes I-VI), re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom (Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story, Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol), supervising sound editor Matthew Wood (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Master, There Will Be Blood) of Skywalker Sound, and visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett (Star Trek Into Darkness, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith) of Industrial Light & Magic. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, with Tommy Harper (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Jack Ryan, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds) serving as executive producers. John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII.”