Hollywood Reporter sources say Lawrence Kasdan (“The Empire Strikes Back,” Raidiers of the Lost Ark”) and Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Sherlock Holmes”) may not be writing episodes VIII and IX of the Star Wars saga, and may in fact be writing spin-off films set in the Star Wars universe.
This means the duo are not necessarily using the VII/VIII/IX treatment George Lucas hired Michael Arndt (“Little Miss Sunshine”) to write.
The Kasdan and Kinberg scripts could also evolve into official “Episodes,” according to The Reporter. (Episodes X, XI and/or XII maybe?)
I’ve always suspected Kasdan had a much freer hand with “Empire” than he did with his massively inferior screenplay collaboration with Lucas for “Return of the Jedi,” so I’m pleased that Kasdan might now be divorced from the Lucas/Arndt stuff.
Critics and audiences alike disliked Kasdan’s last two movies (2003’s “Dreamcatcher” and this year’s “Darling Companion”), but those two movies don’t erase for me the man’s work on “Body Heat,” “The Big Chill,” “Continental Divide,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “Grand Canyon,” “Mumford,” “Wyatt Earp,” and “Silverado.”
As for the activities of Kinberg, whose credits include also “xXx: State of the Union,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Jumper,” I really couldn’t give a shit.
Find all of the Reporter’s story on the matter here.
