Kasdan, Abrams Take On Star Wars Episode VII Screenwriting Duties

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Lucasfilm just announced in a news release that Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams will be taking over screenwriting duties for Star Wars Episode VII from Michael Arndt. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, "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."

The brief statement also mentions that "location scouting, production design, casting, and costume design are already underway," and that "shooting is scheduled to begin Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios for an expected 2015 release." In addition, the following new crew members have been confirmed for Episode VII:

• Ben Burtt (sound designer)
  
• Dan Mindel (director of photography)
  
• Rick Carter and Darren Gilford (production designers)
  
• Michael Kaplan (costume designer)
  
• Chris Corbould (special effects supervisor)
  
• Gary Rydstrom (re-recording mixer)
  
• Skywalker Sound's Matthew Wood (supervising sound editor)
  
• ILM's Roger Guyett (visual effects supervisor)
  
• Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin (executive producers)

You can read the full statement below:

Master Filmmaking Team Announced for Star Wars: Episode VII

As Episode VII continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of several classic Lucasfilm productions, writing the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and serving as co-screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Acclaimed director and screenwriter Abrams' credits include Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Fringe, and Lost.

"I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script," states Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. "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. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. 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."

Location scouting, production design, casting, and costume design are already underway on Episode VII. 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.

Shooting is scheduled to begin Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios for an expected 2015 release.

UPDATE: Slashfilm has compiled information about the newly announced crew members. Their post notes that almost all of the new talent fits into one of three categories. Those categories are, in their words:

• Worked with George Lucas on previous projects. (Some have credits on all the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.)
  
• Have long ties to Steven Spielberg-directed Kathleen Kennedy-produced movies
  
• More than half the announced names have worked with Bad Robot and JJ Abrams on past film projects.

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