Star Wars: The Force Awakens Writer Says Episodes 8 and 9 Will Be "Different"

Although Star Wars: The Force Awakens has a new director and producer, the one consistency with previous Star Wars adventures behind the camera is writer Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and was brought onto the new movie by director JJ Abrams. Now Kasdan has spoken about what the future holds for the Star Wars series, and how subsequent episodes might differ from The Force Awakens.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kasdan suggested that the next parts in the ongoing saga might differ from what he and Abrams have made. "These movies will all be so different," he said. "Rian Johnson [the director of Episode 8] is a friend of mine--he's going to make some weird thing.

"If you've seen Rian's work, you know it's not going be like anything that's ever been in Star Wars. You couldn't have three more different people than JJ, Rian, and Colin [Trevorrow, director of Episode 9]. Those movies will have the Star Wars saga as their basis, but everything else will be different."

Although Kasdan revealed last month that he would no longer be involved with the franchise, there is still one more movie to come from him--the standalone young Han Solo film that he is writing with his son Jon.

"Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going to make the Han Solo film and I can't guess what that will be like--and I'm writing it," he admitted. "You know, he's younger in this movie and that's fun because you have to imagine him 10 years earlier in his early 20s. What was he like before he hardened up? Before he had some setbacks? Before he put on this cynical coat? What got him there?"

Earlier this week, it was reported that the search to find an actor play the young Han Solo was underway. More than 2,500 auditions had taken place for the movie, which is due for release in 2018.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18, 2015. It stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill.