Disney Announces J.J. Abrams as Director of ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’

It’s official. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s surprise scoop that J.J. Abrams had changed his tune from a flat out denial and was going to direct Star Wars: Episode VII, Disney has officially announced in a press release that the Star Trek reboot director will officially be at the helm of the sequel. In addition, the press release confirms that Michael Arndt is writing the screenplay, and that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are consulting on the project as well. Lucasfilm’s new fearless leader Kathleen Kennedy says, “It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie.” Read on! Kennedy went on to say: “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. 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, and will bring …