'Star Wars: Episode VII' Details Emerge; Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, Adam Driver Sought for Roles

If you thought the Star Wars: Episode VII rumors were flying around at a fast pace before, it's only picked up as production inches closer. The difference is these stories are coming from reputable sources with hard info, not random blogs following a hunch, and after word broke recently that Jesse Plemons is in talks for a lead role, THR has just dropped a mountain of new information.

The site not only confirms Plemons for a meeting with J.J. Abrams about a role throughout the trilogy, but also mentions Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, and Adam Driver as among those being considered. Weaving apparently met to play an Imperial commander, but since nothing is set in stone we can just add them all to the lengthy list of possibilities that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael B. Jordan, Saoirse Ronan, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Driver seems to be something of a franchise favorite, at least as far as rumors go, as he also mentioned for a Nightwing role in Man of Steel 2.

There's far more to the story than just casting, however, as the trade reveals screenwriter Michael Arndt's recent departure had nothing to do with scheduling, but conflicts over the story's focus. That has led Abrams and fellow co-writer Lawrence Kasdan to go in a different direction, one that focuses on the original trio of Luke, Han, and Leia in order to give them "a fitting send-off". Their children would be in supporting roles, at least for the first movie, and presumably will take over the rest of the way. So it sounds as if Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher will be turning up only to wrap up their characters' storylines, sell a few million action figures for Disney, then fly off into the Corellian sunset.

Apparently the script is still evolving, too, and characters are changing in just about every respect. That means some of the actors who read for parts earlier, such as Mud star Tye Sherdian, are no longer in the picture because that character has been aged up considerably. A mixed-race or African-American female in her 20s is also being sought to play the possible daughter or granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Who knew Ob-Wan had 'Dagobah Fever'?

Expect more news to come. Star Wars: Episode VII opens December 18th 2015.

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J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan Take Over Writing on 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

The lack of concrete information on J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII has led to a great deal of speculation that the reason is due to little actual progress being made on it. When Comic-Con and the Disney-based D23 came around and we got nothing, those rumors only persisted, and we've heard very little about the Michael Arndt's script, which should be just about completed if a spring 2014 start date was to hit its mark. And now that date, along with the summer 2015 release, may be in doubt as Arndt has been replaced on the film.

According to StarWars.com,  Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams having taken over the co-writing duties from Arndt, who has been attached since shortly after Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm. Kasdan has been a part of the Star Wars universe a long time and wrote The Empire Strikes Back, generally considered the best of the franchise. He's also been working with Simon Kinberg on the many spinoff films that are in the works.

If there were any problems to be found with the work Arndt had done, you'd never know it by what Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's words on the news...

"I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. 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. 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."

A script change isn't always a sign of disaster, and it may just be that Abrams and Kasdan have ideas they want to see implemented. Or they simply didn't like what it was Arndt may have turned in and called for an overhaul. Who knows? But at the very least this threatens to push things back a little back. 

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Michael Arndt confirmed to write 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

Well, the writing was certainly on the wall for this, wasn't it? After reports surfaced yesterday that Oscar-winning scribe Michael Arndt(Toy Story 3) had prepared a 50-page treatment for the upcoming Star Wars trilogy months ago for George Lucas, Lucasfilm has now confirmed he will pen the screenplay for Episode VII.

So with that now out of the way, expect to hear a confirmation on a director soon. We know the treatment was shown to Steven Spielberg, Brad Bird, and J.J. Abrams, with Spielberg stating he has no interest in the job. Matthew Vaughn(Kick-Ass) and Colin Trevorrow(Safety Not Guaranteed) are said to also be on Disney's shortlist.

Will Arndt end up scripting the entire trilogy? We'll just have to wait and see, but I'm guessing Disney will want to take this one film at a time. [Star Wars]

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Michael Arndt may script 'Star Wars VII'; J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Brad Bird eyed to direct

We're starting to get closer to finding out who will take on the most sought after jobs in all of Hollywood, guiding the next of George Lucas' Star Wars trilogies. With Matthew Vaughn and Colin Trevorrow's names already floating out there as potential directors, the latest news has Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt(Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) having penned a 50-page story treatment to cover the entire trilogy, and may be tasked with banging out the screenplay.

Arndt apparently wrote the treatment months ago, long before the Disney/LucasFilm deal happened, so this clearly puts him in the pole position to script the whole thing. Obviously, the Disney folks are quite familiar with Arndt as he's part of Pixar's elite "brain trust", and has a couple of projects already in the pipeline for the Mouse House. He also wrote the script for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which along with the the excellent Toy Story 3 gives him more major franchise experience than most. He also happens to be a Star Wars expert, lecturing frequently about creative storytelling and frequently talks about how satisfying the ending of Episode IV is.

As if the thought of nailing a screenwriter as well-regarded as Arndt isn't big enough, the treatment is expected to be shown to Brad Bird, J.J. Abrams, and Steven Spielberg, with hopes that one of them will want to direct it. The chances of that happening are slim, but Disney wants to cover all of the bases. I think Bird may be more open to the idea than many other sites want to admit, but we'll just see how that shakes out.

And hey, at least we know one guy who wants nothing to do with Star Wars....

Zack Snyder: “I don’t think I’d be interested in [directing it]. I’m a huge ‘Star Wars’ fanatic. I just think doing [episodes] seven, eight and nine is just a slippery slope. It’s a whole other mythological experiment I’m excited to see, but it’s a lot of effort.”

It was like millions of people suddenly just sighed a deep breath of relief, and were suddenly contented. [Vulture/Deadline/HeroComplex]

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'Toy Story 3' scribe Michael Arndt may rewrite 'Catching Fire'

It looks like there will be more changes afoot for Catching Fire than just a new director in Francis Lawrence. With production set to begin this summer, and an even tighter filming schedule than before thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's X-men: First Class commitments, Lionsgate is hoping to bring in Michael Arndt(Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) to do some scriptwork.

Simon Beaufoy(Slumdog Millionaire) wrote the first draft, with the Academy Award winning Arndt coming aboard for a rewrite if the deal comes through. This is one of the side effects of losing Gary Ross and adding Lawrence as director, as Ross was very hands on with the writing process along with Billy Ray and author Suzanne Collins. Lawrence doesn't really handle that part of things, and so another needs to be brought in to help punch things up. They couldn't have made a better choice than Arndt.

In a nice little twist, Arndt recently did some writing on Disney's Order of the Seven, their Snow White adaptation which once had Lawrence attached to direct. Catching Fire is expected to open on November 22nd 2013, but I'm starting to catch a whiff of desperation in meeting the time crunch.

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