We’ve heard a lot of information this past week regarding the Star Wars franchise expansion. While no new specific information was announced, Star Wars consultants Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg gave promising words about the path director J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Michael Arndt are going.

Kasdan was the screenwriter for Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. He recently attended the Final Draft Big Break screenwriting awards, in which he was inducted into the hall of fame. When questioned on his thoughts on the Star Wars reboot after that event, he stated:

They’re going to be fun. J.J.’s (Abrams) a great director for the first sequel. Perfect. We’re very happy to have him. The writers I’ve been working with – Michael Arndt, who’s going to write the sequel, and Simon Kinberg, who has, like me, been sort of consulting — they’re great. I’ve never really collaborated a lot, and I’ve never been a room with a bunch of writers thinking, “Well, what should this thing be?” It’s fun. It’s really fun. And J.J.’s a writer. Yeah, lovely guy. I’d met him but didn’t know him. But now I’m totally enamored by him. He’s really funny and so enthusiastic.

I was pleased that there would be new ones, that there was a chance to capture some of the spirit of the original trilogy that I’d worked on. I thought there’s an audience out there — my grandchildren, lots of original Star Wars people — and there always will be. It’s only good that we try to do some more great ones.

Kinberg, who was contacted by George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy (now the head of LucasFilm at Disney) last fall, let on that there’d still be excitement for the die-hard fans:

I honestly try to approach all of these movies — whether it’s a title like X-Men or Sherlock Holmes or Star Wars — as a fan. I try to block out the anxiety I feel if I worry too much about the responsibility, and I just try to focus on the fun of it and the reasons why I grew up reading X-Men comics and watching Star Wars movies and reading Sherlock Holmes stories, that first time I read or watched any of those things and why they were so magical to me. I try to honor that and return to that as I would a fan.

As a fan, I wouldn’t want to know too much. I know that’s impossible because it’s not the ’70s or ’80s anymore, but part of what was so exciting about A New Hope for me was I was entering into a universe I didn’t know. Even in Empire, I was surprised by a twist I never would have seen coming. But it’s different nowadays. I understand the excitement, and I’m happy that people are interested, obviously. But I’d rather people have something left to discover when they go in.

While no specific details were revealed, it’s good to know that two consultants (one of whom wrote Empire Strikes Back, which is usually regarded to be the best Star Wars film) are optimistic about the new Disney expansion. It’s also important to note that nothing was stated either way if Kasdan and Kinberg are actually doing any writing with Episode VII or the stand-alone films.

While these tidbits are exciting and encouraging, we fans will only have true judgement once the films actually do come out.

If you are against the new Star Wars films, do you have a change of heart after reading these quotes?

Thanks, Slash Film!