J.J. Abrams To Direct STAR WARS: EPISODE VII!

Well, it’s finally happened: J.J. Abrams is in late-stage talks to direct the next Star Wars film for Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm, reports TheWrap. Furthermore, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the same to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, so let’s start the casting! The other sources say that Steven Spielberg was instrumental in convincing Abrams and new LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy to make it happen. Kennedy also talked to other directors including Ben Affleck and also Matthew Vaughn. The mastermind behind the current Star Trek revival, originally denied the Star Wars story in November:

I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big ‘Star Trek’ fan growing up, so for me, working on ‘Star Trek’ didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more than anyone to the next iterations of ‘Star Wars,’ but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!

It’s pretty obvious that director has changed his mind about the project. It now appears that Abrams will be behind the two largest sci-fi franchises in history: Star Trek and Star Wars. Star Wars: Episode VII is set to open in 2015 and he’ll have to jump right into it. So far, Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) is writing Star Wars: Episode VII and has completed a 40+ page treatment. Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan are also writing Star Wars universe scripts that could either be sequels to Episode VII or spinoff movies featuring other characters. What are you on about? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q99q5dV2ko[/youtube]