Luke Skywalker has a new screenwriter: Michael Arndt, the Oscar-winning scribe behind hits such as Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3.
Ever since Disney agreed to plunk down US$4 billion for Lucasfilm last month and announced plans for a seventh Star Wars movie, entertainment bloggers and Hollywood trade reporters have been coming unhinged: who will write it and who will direct it?
Lucasfilm and Disney refused to provide any more details.
But then the Vulture entertainment industry website, relying on anonymous sources, reported that Arndt, who is also working on a new Pixar movie and the script for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, had written a 40- to 50-page treatment for a new Star Wars.
But who will direct it? George Lucas, to the relief of many fans, given the poorly received last three Star Wars movies, will be a consultant only. The studios were silent about a director, but the news media have been digging. Steven Spielberg told Access Hollywood that "no, no" he had no interest. Quentin Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly: "I could so care less."