Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Lawrence Kasdan on the film, Teases Lando

One of the faces of Star Wars of old returning for this December's Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan was screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi of course, and he's co-authored the script for The Force Awakens, too.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Kasdan talked about the new film, saying that "it's turned out really great" and that "JJ [Abrams] directed it so beautifully, and it’s so exhilarating and everything."

Refreshingly, Kasdan also revealed that there's a focus on making sure the movie doesn't outstay its welcome too. "One of the things that we always refocus on from the get-go was that it not be one of these very long, bloated blockbusters. A lot of very entertaining movies lately are too long. In the last 20 minutes, you think, why isn’t this over? We didn’t want to make a movie like that."

Instead, the plan is to leave us all wanting more when the credits roll, which sounds like it's making the editing of the film a challenge. "Killing your darlings," is how Kasdan describes it.

Furthermore, Kasdan then teased a future for Lando Calrissian, a character believed to be absent from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. "Right now, there’s no Lando Calrissian in this movie," Kasdan confirmed. "But Lando I don’t think is finished in any way, shape, or form."

Never say never, then. More on Star Wars in due course...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on Dec. 18. 

Vanity Fair