J.J. Abrams, Luke Skywalker, Chloe Grace Moretz and Everything Else We Now Know About 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

From the day back in October when Disney announced it had purchased Lucasfilm and was planning Star Wars: Episode VII, there have been four Death Star-sized questions floating around the pop culture universe. Who's going to direct it? Who's going to star in it? What'll it be called? And will it suck?

On Thursday afternoon, we got the answer to that first question. TheWrap reported that J.J. Abrams, the man behind the Star Trek reboot, Lost, Fringe, Alias and so many other pop culture touchstones, would follow in the footsteps of George Lucas. As the day progressed, several other sites confirmed the news, leaving just Disney/Lucasfilm and Abrams himself to comment.

We're still waiting on the official word from those parties, and while the answers to the other three questions mentioned above are still probably months away, let's take a look at what we do know about Star Wars: Episode VII.



J.J. Abrams, despite several denials, is directing
This was the big news this week. As recently as November, Abrams had vehemently denied that he had any interest in taking on a project like a Star Wars sequel. While he expressed excitement at a return to this galaxy far, far away, Abrams said that "the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series." Well, that burden is Abrams' now.

It's funny that he's now directing a Star Wars film, as one of the big complaints about his Star Trek reboot was that the film may have been a great movie, it felt more like a Star Wars film than a Star Trek film. The 2009 Star Trek reboot does hit many of the same notes as Lucas' original Star Wars movie. If Abrams has a grasp on what made the original Star Wars trilogy special, it should mean that we won't get a repeat of the Prequel Trilogy.

So what if Abrams like to employ lens flares? That's such a tiny thing to not like a director over. Like Zack Snyder and Man of Steel, I'm sure Abrams is going to be able to tailor his style to Star Wars and deliver a movie that fits in the world Lucas created while still allowing Abrams to put his own touches on it.

The fun part about knowing that Abrams is directing is that we can now start looking at who he might cast in Episode VII. If our favorites like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo will be the focus of the movie, will the story pick up almost 40 years later with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford returning to those roles? Or will Disney establish that these are characters who can be played by anyone, bestowing James Bondesque immortality on Luke, Leia and Han? If that's the case, Abrams has a deep bench of actors that he's worked with over the years. The idea of Lost's Josh Holloway stepping in as Han Solo popped up on Twitter almost immediately after the Abrams new broke.

Michael Arndt, the guy who NEVER MADE ANY OF US CRY SO WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT US during 'Toy Story 3,' is writing 'Episode VII'
Disney confirmed this one back in November, verifying the rumors that Michael Arndt, the scribe behind Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3, would be writing Star Wars: Episode VII. This, of course, was very welcome news after we all saw what happened when Lucas was allowed to write his own scripts for the Prequel Trilogy. Lucas excels when it comes to plotting a story or building a universe, but writing scripts and devising dialogue aren't his strengths.

Lawrence Kasdan, who's writing a Star Wars script that will either be Episode VIII, Episode IX or a standalone Star Wars film, wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I'm not even going to argue the point that The Empire Strikes Back is the best film of the series, but that fact shows how good Star Wars can be when a talented screenwriter gets to plot the franchise's next adventure. Based on his work so far, Arndt should be able to follow in Kasdan's footsteps and deliver a Star Wars movie that manages to be a great deal of fun and still have an emotional core. While Arndt may or may not have made grown men cry during the Toy Story 3, I'm pretty sure that the only time anyone cried during the Prequel Trilogy was when we realized that Jar Jar Binks wasn't going away anytime soon.

The Sequel Trilogy is probably going to focus on Luke Skywalker
Back in October, TheWrap published a story reporting that the Sequel Trilogy would definitely focus on the further adventures of Luke Skywalker, with a source calling the upcoming three movies "the most exciting" of the series.

“It was originally a 12-part saga,” Pollock told TheWrap. “The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, ‘I want to see these 3 movies.’”

Here's the interesting twist to this: That very report claimed that we would see Luke in his 30s or 40s instead of picking up with Luke's life in real time. That means Hamill wouldn't be the man portraying Luke on the big screen. And after Thursday's news, it's hard to dismiss this as just some crazy rumor. TheWrap broke the Abrams story, with everyone else scurrying after them to confirm it. If they were dead on with Abrams, who's to say they didn't know what they were talking about with a younger Luke Skywalker?

If this report turns out to be true, Abrams will be looking for an actor to take the baton from Hamill. The director has already dealt with this before, replacing the entire original cast of Star Trek with a new, younger cast. Of course, with 2009's Star Trek, Abrams was able to explain the entire thing away as an alternate timeline, a luxury he won't have with Episode VII. Whoever Abrams cast as Luke becomes the real Luke. There won't be Hamill as Luke Prime conveniently waiting for New Luke on a Hoth-like planet in this movie.

Even if Luke is the focus of 'Episode VII,' expect the movie to have a strong female lead
Katniss Everdeen. Snow White. Black Widow. Star Wars doesn't currently have a character shaped from the same mold as these heroines. While Star Wars tried to establish Padme Amidala as a strong female lead in the Prequel Trilogy, the character was eventually reduced to a teary pregnant wife by Revenge of the Sith. Dark Horse's newly launched Star Wars series has re-established Princess Leia as an X-Wing-flying, Stormtrooper-shooting badass, though. If you want to take a sure bet, back the idea that Episode VII will have a female character who can hold her own against the kickass women in The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman and The Avengers.

And speaking of Kick-Ass ... SlashFilm offered an interesting nugget on Thursday, reporting that Kathleen Kennedy, the new head of Lucasfilm, started her director search with Steven Spielberg and Abrams. After those two passed, she moved on to Ben Affleck and Matthew Vaughn. While the idea of an Affleck-directed Star Wars film is something that I could discuss for hours, it's the Vaughn part that I want to focus on. We heard several reports that Vaughn was the man who would direct Episode VII, and while those rumors turned out to be false, the SlashFilm article mentioned one contribution that he could still have to the new trilogy. Even though he didn't wind up directing the new Star Wars film, Vaughn pitched Kennedy on casting Chloe Grace Moretz as its lead.

Moretz in Episode VII? The fanboys will go nuts. Since the actress' appearance in the original Kick-Ass, she's been a fan favorite. If Abrams and Kennedy take Vaughn's advice and cast Moretz, it'll be a sign that they're in tune with the pulse of pop culture. Moretz has proven that she's not just another Transformers actress/model. She's a serious actress who brings a unique edge to a role. And before you try to say that she's too young, Moretz was born in 1997, which would make her 18 when Episode VII hits theaters in 2015. Natalie Portman was born in 1981, which also made her 18 when The Phantom Menance hit theaters in 1999. You are allowed to feel crazy old imaging someone who was only 2 years old when Episode I debuted possibly starring in Episode VII.

That Vaughn even suggested to Kennedy that Moretz should be Episode VII's lead alludes to the fact that we should expect the film to have a female lead. The Lucasfilm folks probably gave Vaughn enough information about Episode VII to allow the director to make an informed choice and offer his suggestions. I wouldn't imagine that he would just make random casting guesses without knowing what he might be casting for.

If Episode VII does focus on a strong female character, can I once again suggest Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Ahsoka Tano? Freeze her in carbonite if you have to in order to make it happen.