According to The Hollywood Reporter, both Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg have signed deals to produce and write Star Wars: Episode VIII and Star Wars: Episode IX. It’s not clear what their exact responsibilities will be yet; however, we do know that they will write either Episode VIII or IX, and act as producers on both. This comes in addition to the previous news that Michael Arndt will be writing Episode VII.
Why is the inclusion of Kasdan so important? Well he was the writer behind The Empire Strikes Back, which is far-and-away the best installment in the Star Wars saga. He also wrote Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark, so you can see that the man is well-versed in not only Star Wars, but Hollywood blockbusters with heart and soul as well.
Kinberg has also worked on his fair share of genre films over the years – having written the scripts for X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, and upcoming films like Elysium and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now all we need to know is who will be starring in and directing these new Star Wars movies and we’ll be all set.
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[via THR]
