'Star Wars: Episode VII' May Be Written By 'Toy Story 3' Scribe (Which Means We'll Probably Cry During It)

A couple days ago, I offered my theory that Lucasfilm and Disney are much farther along when it comes to the production of Star Wars: Episode VII than the studio and company are letting on. Mark Hamill apparently got a heads-up about the new trilogy from George Lucas this summer and Matthew Vaughn may have left X-Men: Days of Future Past to direct Episode VII. If the new Star Wars movie is supposed to hit theaters in 2015, Disney doesn't have much time to get it going.

Lucasfilm may have even lined up a writer for the new trilogy, according to Vulture. The website reports that Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine and was nominated for one with Toy Story 3, has already turned in a 40- to 50-page treatment for the new trilogy, completely vindicating my theory that the pieces for Episode VII have been in play much longer than we've been led to believe.

Informed sources tell Vulture that Star Wars: Episode VII has found a leading candidate to write the film’s screenplay: Michael Arndt, the Pixar favorite who was nominated for an Oscar for Toy Story 3, won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, and wrote The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is currently shooting. Insiders confirm that Arndt has written a 40- to 50-page treatment for the film and is likely to be at least one of the writers when the Disney/Lucasfilm project begins shooting in 2014.

The interesting thing about Arndt writing Episode VII is that he's already a part of the Pixar brain trust, making him a Disney inside before Disney even bought Lucasfilm. This is only going to fuel the rumors that Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, may direct Star Wars: Episode VII.