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Los Angeles - Sci-fi and action filmmaker JJ Abrams will direct the next Star Wars film, the franchise's creators and owners confirmed on Saturday, saying its "legacy couldn't be in better hands".
George Lucas's Lucasfilm, bought by entertainment giant Disney for $4bn in October, said Oscar-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII, due out in 2015.
"It's very exciting to have JJ aboard, leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie," said Kathleen Kennedy, who took over last year as president of Lucasfilm, confirming industry media reports.
"JJ is the perfect director to helm this... He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture," she added, in a statement issued by Disney.
'An absolute honour'
George Lucas added: "I've consistently been impressed with JJ as a filmmaker and storyteller. He's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands."
Abrams himself said the collaboration was "an absolute honour".
"I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid," he added.
Abrams, 46, directed Mission: Impossible III (2006), Star Trek (2009) and Super 8 (2011). He is the co-creator of the popular television series Lost, and is currently finishing work on Star Trek Into Darkness.
Writer Arndt won a best screenplay Oscar for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Toy Story 3 in 2011.
His other credits include Brave, nominated for best animated film at next month's Oscars.
Creative consultant
Disney announced when it bought Lucasfilm last year that it was planning a new trilogy in the wildly popular Star Wars sci-fi saga, which has raked in an estimated $4.4bn since 1977.
Lucas - who created the saga and directed four of the six films to date - will serve as a creative consultant for the three new films, which are expected to come out every two to three years.
Lucas's original Star Wars movie in 1977, which marked the birth of a new era of blockbuster cinema, launched the career of a young Harrison Ford.
It was soon followed by the equally popular The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
In the late 1990s, Lucas drew mixed reviews when he resurrected the blockbuster series with a prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace (1999), The Attack of the Clones (2002) and The Revenge of the Sith (2005).
The newer trilogy featured Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen.
George Lucas's Lucasfilm, bought by entertainment giant Disney for $4bn in October, said Oscar-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII, due out in 2015.
"It's very exciting to have JJ aboard, leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie," said Kathleen Kennedy, who took over last year as president of Lucasfilm, confirming industry media reports.
"JJ is the perfect director to helm this... He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture," she added, in a statement issued by Disney.
'An absolute honour'
George Lucas added: "I've consistently been impressed with JJ as a filmmaker and storyteller. He's an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn't be in better hands."
Abrams himself said the collaboration was "an absolute honour".
"I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid," he added.
Abrams, 46, directed Mission: Impossible III (2006), Star Trek (2009) and Super 8 (2011). He is the co-creator of the popular television series Lost, and is currently finishing work on Star Trek Into Darkness.
Writer Arndt won a best screenplay Oscar for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Toy Story 3 in 2011.
His other credits include Brave, nominated for best animated film at next month's Oscars.
Creative consultant
Disney announced when it bought Lucasfilm last year that it was planning a new trilogy in the wildly popular Star Wars sci-fi saga, which has raked in an estimated $4.4bn since 1977.
Lucas - who created the saga and directed four of the six films to date - will serve as a creative consultant for the three new films, which are expected to come out every two to three years.
Lucas's original Star Wars movie in 1977, which marked the birth of a new era of blockbuster cinema, launched the career of a young Harrison Ford.
It was soon followed by the equally popular The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
In the late 1990s, Lucas drew mixed reviews when he resurrected the blockbuster series with a prequel trilogy: The Phantom Menace (1999), The Attack of the Clones (2002) and The Revenge of the Sith (2005).
The newer trilogy featured Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen.
