So if the rumours/speculation/early announcements are correct, the Star Wars screenwriters are set. Michael Arndt will be penning Star Wars VII, and Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg will be writing Episodes VIII and IX, respectively. But just who are the men who will be re-invigorating the franchise for a new generation?
Michael Arndt was the first scribe to be charged with the task of returning the Jedi to theatres, the writer penning a “pretty extensive and detailed treatment for what would be the next three movies; the trilogy.” If that wasn't enough, Arndt will also write the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII.
The least experienced of the Star Wars writers – in terms of screenplays that have made it to the big screen – Arndt nevertheless has incredible pedigree. His first produced script – Little Miss Sunshine – won him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His second – Toy Story 3 – saw him nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The former flick suggests he knows his way around an ensemble piece, always useful in the Star Wars universe, while the latter shows that Arndt can join an established franchise and take it to the next level.
Since then he has worked on the scripts for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Alfonso Cuaron’s eagerly anticipated sci-fi flick Oblivion, while he has also been working with Pixar on their mysterious forthcoming flick that “Takes You Inside the Mind.”
While Michael Arndt’s CV is limited but impeccable, Simon Kinberg’s is longer but somewhat inconsistent. The British-born scribe kicked off his career with hopeless action sequel xXx: State of the Union, but followed that up with the global smash Mr. and Mrs Smith, a script that started as a film school thesis but went onto gross nearly $475m worldwide.
He’s had his fair share of misfires, including Jumper, This Means War and the risible X-Men: The Last Stand, which he co-wrote with Zack Penn.
But Kinberg then righted that wrong by penning X-Men: First Class, a super-smart superhero movie that took established characters and cleverly re-introduced them to cinemagoers, a skill that will be priceless for a series of films that will apparently bring back several beloved characters.
He’s currently writing X-Men: Days of Future Past, and producing Neil Blomkamp's Elysium, which alongside the aforementioned Oblivion, is 2013's most eagerly anticipated sci-fi.
This is the announcement that had Star Wars fans doing this...
Lawrence Kasdan – the man who wrote both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – will once again be putting pen to Star Wars paper.
The 63-year-old’s first screenwriting break came when he sold the script for The Bodyguard nearly 40 years ago. The film was originally conceived as a vehicle for Diana Ross and Steve McQueen, but didn’t hit the screen until 1992, when Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner took the starring roles.
But his first produced screenplay was The Empire Strikes Back, a gig he landed when the film’s first writer – Leigh Brackett – sadly passed away. Generally considered to be the best of the Star Wars flicks, his dark, twisted and multi-layered screenplay was successful enough to bag him the Return of the Jedi job, which was an inferior affair in which fantastic sequences rubbed shoulders with terrible ones.
Kasdan also collaborated with George Lucas on Raiders of the Lost Ark, while he has been Oscar-nominated for the likes of The Big Chill, Grand Canyon and The Accidental Tourist.
There’s no word yet as to which instalment Kinberg and Kasdan will pen, but the thought of Arndt crafting a fun popcorn flick first time out and Kasdan taking things Empire-style dark in the sequel sounds like a Star Wars fan’s wet dream.
Whatever the case, it sounds like the franchise is in safe hands, with producer Kathleen Kennedy selecting three smart, talented and accomplished screenwriters to shepherd the saga.
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and definitely won't be directing the new Star Wars movie. He can be found in The Winchester, or on both Twitter and MyIGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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