Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Star Wars: Episode VII Film Shuffles Writers
The new Star Wars film has shuffled its writers a bit with Lawrence Kasdan moving from consultant to co-writer and replacing writer Michael Arndt (who was working off an outline written by George Lucas). Kasdan was a writer on The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but he also worked on the story for the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire novel and video game.
Arndt has writing credits on films like Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3, but will no longer be involved in the writing of Star Wars: Episode VII. In an post on the official Star Wars website, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, "Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production." The post also confirms that pre-production tasks for the film like location scouting, production design, casting, and costume design are all underway.
Director J.J. Abrams recently expressed disappointment in the latest Star Trek game, which he was initially involved in. Abrams has also worked with, and continues to work with Valve, on mysterious projects.
We've barely learned anything concrete about the new Star Wars film, let alone a video game related to it, but we're hopeful to see what the future hold for the interactive side of Star Wars.
[Source: Star Wars, via Aint It Cool]
Our Take
Abrams clearly has an appreciation of what makes a good video game, even if he hasn't had a chance to prove himself in that medium quite yet, and Kasdan has had some limited experience with video games. Their focus is on the film, but their backgrounds inspire some hope for the future of video games based on Star Wars.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
