LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s official. The force is with J.J. Abrams.
The Walt Disney Co. issued a statement Friday night confirming reports that had been circulating for two days that Abrams, Emmy-award-winning creator of TV’s “Lost” and director of 2009’s “Star Trek” movie, has been pegged to direct the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” franchise.
“J.J. is the perfect director to helm this,” said Kathleen Kennedy, the movie’s producer and president of Lucasfilm, which was acquired by Disney last month for $4.06 billion.
“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,” Kennedy said in the statement.
The movie will have a script from “Toy Story 3” writer Michael Arndt and a 2015 release.
Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” in the original trilogy, will work as a consultant on the new project.
Abrams has already headed the reboot of another storied space franchise, “Star Trek,” for rival studio Paramount Pictures. The next installment in that series, “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” is set to hit theaters May 17.
But he has long been known as a “Star Wars” devotee. Abrams spoke about the plot of the original “Star Wars” in the lecture series “TED Talks” in March 2007, and reportedly became enamored of “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof partly because Lindelof was wearing a “Star Wars” T-shirt when they first met.
In 2009, Abrams told the Los Angeles Times: “As a kid, ‘Star Wars’ was much more my thing than ‘Star Trek’ was.”
In Friday night’s statement he called it an “absolute honor” to get the job.
“I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid,” Abrams said.
Lucas himself said in the statement that “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.”
Daily Updates
January 26, 2013
Disney says JJ Abrams to direct next ’Star Wars’
- Daily Updates
-
-
Police: School near OKC directly hit by tornado
Authorities say an elementary school in an Oklahoma City suburb took a direct hit from a mile-wide tornado.
Continued ... - What you need to know about preparing for tornadoes
- VIDEO: How technology helps predict tornadoes
- Arias trial wraps for day, continues Tuesday
- Newspaper: Tennessee murder suspect commits suicide in Calhoun motel
- Senators require fingerprinting at 30 airports
- Split-second choice ended with NY student dead
- 'Trek’ does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes
- 10 Things to Know for Monday
- Taylor Swift wins 8 trophies at Billboard Awards
- May 19, 2013
- Ga water negotiator’s role may be seen as conflict
- Heavy rains close Atlanta area roads
- AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional
- Obama exhorts good deeds by Morehouse graduates
- Small Fla. city wonders who won Powerball jackpot
-
Police: School near OKC directly hit by tornado
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Wave of Attacks Kills Scores in Iraq
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Company Promises to Make All Snail Mail Digital
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
