Michael Arndt leaves 'Star Wars 7' as writer: Director J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan step in to finish 'Episode VII' script in time for 2015

Star Wars: Episode VII just hit a bit of a snag this week with writer Michael Arndt pulling out of the project. Luckily, the film's director J.J. Abrams has stepped in to finish the script with Empire Strikes Back co-writer Lawrence Kasdan. So we lost one great writer, but picked up one of the guys responsible for (arguably) the best Star Wars movies.

This set back did affect production however. Instead of a January 2014 start to filming, the production has been pushed back to the Spring. With that in mind, casting announcements could also be pushed back. October was rumored to be the month when such announcements would be made, but we have another week before we can truly rule that out.

Also, rumors of Episode VII being pushed to a Winter 2015 release from Summer 2015 release may be true with this news. In a new press release for the Arndt departure and the Abrams/Kasdan announcement, the release date isn't mentioned but we should assume a later date at this point.

Here is a quote from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy featured in a Star Wars: Episode VII press release from this week:

I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script. There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a 'Star Wars' story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.

How do you feel about Arndt's departure? Are you excited to see what Abrams and Kasdan do with the script? Can 2015 get here any quicker?

Check out more from the press release right HERE!