As the lead screenwriter on both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it’s little wonder why Lawrence Kasdan is held in such high regard across the industry. Now that Disney is reviving the Star Wars series, the scribe returned from the sidelines for the first time in more than three decades to lend help to J.J. Abrams on Star Wars: The Force Awakens along with penning the screenplay for Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo spinoff.
It’s a job that he’s tackling with his son, Jon Kasdan, but a new report spotted by The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Lawrence Kasdan is ready to call time on his tenure in the Star Wars universe. According to German tabloid Bild, the revered writer is quoted as saying ““I have now made four Star Wars movies. That’s more than enough.”
[zergpaid]Indeed, as the piece reveals, the concept of a Han Solo standalone prequel didn’t present anything of interest for Kasdan at first, though the writer was quickly coaxed into penning an origins tale for the galaxy’s most endearing scoundrel by his family. Miller and Lord’s Anthology feature is on course to follow in the footsteps of Episode VIII (Rian Johnson’s mainline installment) in 2018, but will it really signal the end of Kasdan’s time in Lucasfilm’s prestigious universe?
Given that neither Lucasfilm nor Disney have released anything official, it’s best to treat Bild’s report with heightened caution. Then again, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the writer is planning on closing the book on Star Wars once the Han Solo spinoff struts into theaters.
It’ll bring an end to a decorated career within a galaxy far, far away, and we’ll get an opportunity to glimpse the fruits of Kasdan’s labor in next month’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Published: Nov 11, 2015 09:47 am