I'm now thinking that "no Lucas" is pretty optimistic - there'll be a backseat driver on this project for sure. Most likely the reason that Whedon, Abrams, etc, have ruled themselves out of the running.

Well, they've purchased his treatments on 7/8/9 with everything else; good news is they can pick and choose what they want to do with it, but yes, sadly, these stories will be from the seeds of George Lucas' ideas. And while Kasdan is a warm fuzzy name to see back in the fold, he really hasn't done shit in forever so I have no idea what he does or doesn't bring to the table. And I say that as a Dreamcatcher megafan, too.

Alexhead wrote:And while Kasdan is a warm fuzzy name to see back in the fold, he really hasn't done shit in forever so I have no idea what he does or doesn't bring to the table. And I say that as a Dreamcatcher megafan, too.

Mumford, represent...

Well, better Kasdan than the latest hot talent(less cunt).

Matthew Vaughn rumors heating up again.

Rumor mill now says...JJ Abrams. The internet has already offered up this shiny new logo to celebrate.

lol, well played, internet.

Ah, you beat me to it. Yes, both AP and LA Times are running with the J.J. Abrams story. Still no confirmation from Abrams' people, Disney or Lucasfilm.

Lol. Kind of brings a new irony to all those old Star Trek vs Star Wars debates. Now they're done by the same person. I can only assume Luke will be training new Jedi in something that looks like an Apple store.

I'm gonna guess Paramount gave JJ more leeway to play with Star Trek than Disney will give JJ to play with Star Wars.

2nd-best option after Whedon, I guess. Can't be worse than Episode III, or the white noise that is the Clone Wars.

Alexhead wrote:I'm gonna guess Paramount gave JJ more leeway to play with Star Trek than Disney will give JJ to play with Star Wars.

Don't be too sure. They gave Whedon a fair amount of freedom with The Avengers. Remember, this isn't Walt Disney pictures making this film, it's Lucasfilm a division of Disney, just as Marvel is a division of Disney. Kathleen Kennedy reports only to the Chairman of Disney, no one else. And it's not like she hasn't produced films by top level directors before (Spielberg, Landis, Zemeckis, Eastwood, Shyamalan, Scorsese). I doubt Disney is going to be a problem. About they only thing they might try to suggest is adding more things to make toys of. But this is Star Wars, it's pretty much already been designed by Lucas for that.

Mm, based on what I've read Marvel told Joss that Loki had to be the villain, Iron Man had to fight Thor, Thor had to fight Hulk, and there had to be an extended battle sequence at the end of the movie. And the hero fights were basically storyboarded and handed to him. He was a (relatively) cheap gun for hire who had to connect their dots. And this is newly minted Hollywood box office royalty, doesn't even compare to the Star Wars brand. Let's be honest, Star Trek was washed up and done from a cinematic standpoint and has never had the box office draw or widespread appeal of Star Wars; you can sit in a geek throne and parse which franchise is cooler but which franchise is more successful from a familiarity/marketing/toy standpoint is a no-brainer. I don't see it as a bad thing, but I see it as a very professional and focused thing that Disney has been doing with Star Wars so far, JJ will fit into that model just fine as he's more of a businessman than a visionary but I suspect he will need to play by some very specific rules laid out by Disney and to a slightly lesser extent Lucas compared to what constraints he had with Star Trek.

if he (or anyone) can inject any degree of imagination into this barren franchise, it's a win for fans. lucas not being involved in the writing (of terrible, stilted dialog) is addition by subtraction. if this can be accomplished and there are corporate checkboxes that must be ticked, so be it.

TC wrote:if he (or anyone) can inject any degree of imagination into this barren franchise, it's a win for fans. lucas not being involved in the writing (of terrible, stilted dialog) is addition by subtraction. if this can be accomplished and there are corporate checkboxes that must be ticked, so be it.

And I think that's exactly what you'll get. They seem to be making all the right moves so far, but I don't think they'll deviate much from whatever plan they have.

and it's official:

io9 wrote:Disney confirms it: J.J. Abrams is officially directing the next Star Wars movie

The ink is now dry on the contracts and it's official: J.J. Abrams will be directing Star Wars: Episode VII. After the flurry of unofficial reports, Disney has issued a press release confirming that Abrams is on board to direct the Michael Arndt-scripted Star Wars film.
Here's the requisite backslapping from the press release:

"It's very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie," said [Lucasfilm president Kathleen] 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."

The press release also adds that Abrams, his producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot will be producing the movie with Kennedy and Disney, and that Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, will be consulting, as will Simon Kinberg, screenwriter on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

kasdan consulting? well now i'm even more interested...

TC wrote:kasdan consulting? well now i'm even more interested...

Then this should pique your interest that much further over the cliff:

Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, told analysts in a conference call that Disney’s newly acquired Lucasfilm division is moving forward with “a few” additional movies that feature characters from the “Star Wars” universe.

Lawrence Kasdan, known for his work on “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” and Simon Kinberg, a screenwriter whose credits include “Sherlock Holmes,” are both working on the “stand-alone” films, Mr. Iger said. Disney has previously announced plans to make the seventh, eighth and ninth installments in the “Star Wars” saga; they will roll out over a six-year period starting in 2015 with one directed by J.J. Abrams.

Yeah, hot rumor is the first one will be a Yoda-centric flick.

Alexhead wrote:Yeah, hot rumor is the first one will be a Yoda-centric flick.

Hrm. I think there already was plenty of Yoda in the prequels. Why not a Chewbacca one instead?

The dialouge would pretty much write itself.