From Disney and director J.J. Abrams comes the sequel to the original trilogy – Episode VII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Starring Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o and Gwendoline Christie, the film is scheduled for release December 18th, 2015.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, director J.J. Abrams confirmed that he would not be returning to the franchise with episode IX saying, “No, I’m not going to direct Episode IX, as much as I am deeply envious of anyone who gets to work with this group of people on the future movies.”
Looper director Rian Johnson is receiving high praise from the crew as he works hard on the script for episode VIII which was confirmed to be the filmmaker’s next film. “We know where we’re going, but only in the broadest sense. When Rian came in and started writing his script, he started from scratch, other than knowing what we had done in Episode VII and projecting out where it was going. He then sat down and put pen to paper, and it’s 100 percent him,” said Kathleen Kennedy.
Other story bits revealed in the piece include a mention that Adam Driver’s villainous Kylo Ren is obsessed with Darth Vader and that Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia is in possession of her father’s long forgotten red lightsaber.
Source: EW