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The Walt Disney Corporation rocked the science fiction world when it announced it would produce a brand new trilogy of Star Wars films; purchasing the franchise, along with the rest of Lucasfilm Ltd, for $4.05 billion. Since the word first came down, we’ve learned that the first film, slated for 2015, will be written by Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt. We then learned that the subsequent two, spaced roughly two to three years apart, would be penned by The Empire Strikes Back co-author Lawrence Kasdan and the writer of X-Men: The Last Stand, Simon Kinberg. Finally, the big shocker: JJ Abrams, the director behind the recently-rebooted Star Trek franchise, would be directing the first film in the new Star Wars trilogy, simultaneously controlling the destinies of two of the genre’s biggest properties.
Hopes run high among the Star Wars faithful that Disney will be able to restore the franchise to its earlier heights. For its part, Disney has already moved to distance itself from the George Lucas-directed prequels: the company put off Lucasfilm’s plans to re-release Episodes II and III of the saga in 3D in order to focus "100 percent" on the new films.
13 updates and 1460 comments below.
Apr 17 3:15p
Are you ready for a barrage of Star Wars films? Disney hopes so: according to multiple outlets, the company has just announced at CinemaCon that it will be releasing a new film in the universe every summer, starting in 2015. We had previously heard that Episode VII was destined for a 2015 release, but with today's development plans have become much clearer. Episode VIII should come out in 2017, followed by Episode IX in 2019. Meanwhile, the standalone films that will focus on particular...
Mar 07 9:11p
Last October, George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm to Disney — and along with it, every piece of the Star Wars saga. Bloomberg Businessweek has a compelling look at the process behind the purchase, and what it meant to both Lucas and Disney CEO Bob Iger.
As the director moved toward selling the company, he tried to position Lucasfilm to continue successfully without him. Part of that involved opening discussions with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher to do new S...
Mar 05 7:31p
We've heard word that Harrison Ford will return as Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, but that wouldn't be quite the same without his partner Princess Leia. There's good news, though — it looks like Carrie Fisher has told Palm Beach Illustrated that she will indeed reprise the role of Luke Skywalker's sister. When asked what kind of part she envisaged the character playing in the new movie, Fisher said:
Feb 15 1:18p
Star Wars film rumors are flying hard lately, ranging from the now-confirmed reports that J.J. Abrams will be directing Episode VII to the refuted claim that Zack Snyder would be helming a film. The latest, if true, is big: according to Latino Review, Harrison Ford will "officially" return to play Han Solo in an upcoming Star Wars movie. Latino Review isn't a huge name in media, but they've broken major news before: among other things, they published a credible review of a planned Halo script...
Feb 05 6:03p
It's well known at this point that Disney and Lucasfilm are actively working on a new entrant in the Star Wars film franchise, known as Episode VII, as well as planning to continue the series beyond that. But in addition to keeping the linear Star Wars movies going, Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed that the much-rumored standalone movie is also in development. Speaking to CNBC, Iger said "I can confirm to you today that in fact we are working on a few standalone films, Larry Kasdan and Simon...
Jan 31 12:02a
Since word first broke of Disney's $4.05 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm, the estimated release date for the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode VII has been 2015 — but according to Lucasfilm co-chair Kathleen Kennedy that may not be set in stone. The Hollywood Reporter has an extensive profile on Kennedy, covering her long-standing collaboration with Steven Spielberg and including how she convinced director J.J. Abrams to take the Episode VII job. She describes a clandestine meeting with the...
Jan 30 7:41a
Now that Lucasfilm has confirmed J.J. Abrams as the director of Star Wars Episode VII, fans everywhere are wondering what direction the Star Trek director will take the beloved sci-fi franchise. Star Wars Blog has collected some of Abrams' comments from the past six years, reminding us of the deep appreciation that the director has for Star Wars and sci-fi in general.
Back in 2008, Abrams said that his favorite thing about the films is their "ability to tell an incredibly personal, intimate,...
Jan 28 3:58p
While the focus this past week has been on what new Star Wars movies are coming, today it's on what won't be making it to theaters: 3D versions of the rest of the prequel trilogy. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that plans for a theatrical release of 3D editions of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith have been scuttled as Disney turns its attention to the new trilogy it has in the works.
The 3D version of The Phantom Menace was released in February...
Jan 26 12:12a
The rumors were true: Lucasfilm has announced that J.J. Abrams will be stepping behind the camera for the latest entry in the Star Wars saga. The news comes via a lengthy blog post at the official Star Wars website, with producer Kathleen Kennedy stating that "It's very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie." Kennedy goes on to call him "the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an...
Jan 24 4:56p
Despite the fact that J.J. Abrams said he would not direct the forthcoming Star Wars films, The Wrap is now reporting that he will indeed take control of the next movie in the lucrative franchise. Lucasfilm and Bad Robot (Abrams' production company) have both refused to comment on this, but The Wrap claims that insider sources with "knowledge of the production" say the Star Trek director will take over the first Star Wars movies since Disney purchased Lucasfilm. Also reportedly in contention...
Nov 21 5:44p
According to The Hollywood Reporter, writers Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg have agreed to write installments of the new Star Wars trilogy, and they will write either Episode 8 or Episode 9. Kasdan's already got some serious credentials under his belt: he previously co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kasdan's counterpart Kinberg has written titles including X-Men: The Last Stand, Sherlock Holmes, and Jumper. The Hollywood Reporter says that...
Nov 09 10:23p
It seems Lucasfilm's forthcoming installment in the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: Episode VII, has found a writer. In a blog post today, Lucasfilm confirmed that Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Arndt would be penning the script. According to Lucasfilm, producers Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas have already begun development discussions with Arndt. Late last month, Disney announced its acquisition of Lucasfilm for roughly $4.05 billion in cash and stock, with plans to...
Oct 30 4:04p
Star Wars fans, you might want to sit down for this one — The Walt Disney Company just announced its plans to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd from George Lucas, with plans to release Star Wars: Episode 7 sometime during 2015. While there aren't any release dates yet for Episodes 8 and 9, those films will be coming as well — and the studio has even more beyond a new trilogy planned for the future.
The deal is a stock and cash transaction, with Lucas receiving about half of the $4.05 billion value...
Apr 30 8:13p
J.J. Abrams expects John Williams to score 'Star Wars: Episode VII'
J.J. Abrams, director of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, believes that legendary composer John Williams will reprise his role for the much-anticipated sequel. In comments made at a press conference for Star Trek Into Darkness, Abrams praised the work of current collaborator Michael Giacchino, but said that Williams is likely to return to Star Wars.