In a conference call about Fox's upcoming show Almost Human, J.J. Abrams explained why he and Lawrence Kasdan took over script writing duties from Michael Arndt on Star Wars: Episode VII.
Abrams told Deadline, "It became clear that given the time frame and given the way the thing was going that working with Larry in this way was going to get us where we need to be and when we needed to be."
He added, "Working with Larry Kasdan, especially on a Star Wars movie is kind of unbeatable." Kasdan wrote the screenplay for Empire Strikes Back.
Abrams went on to say that despite taking over writing duties from Arndt, it doesn't "preclude working with Michael again in the future. He is one of the best writers around."
The time frame seems to be set with the film needing to hit screens in the summer of 2015. As previously reported, part of the Episode VII creative team tried to have the release date pushed back as they felt they were scrambling.
Sources said last week that the script was not done, or even close and producer Kathleen Kennedy had asked for a delay to get things back on track, but Disney CEO Robert Iger wouldn't budge. Supposedly Abrams fell on Iger's side and that might have hastened Arndt's departure if the script wasn't proceeding fast enough.
image: Wikimedia Commons
