J.J. Abrams to Direct Episode VII

News broke on Thursday that J.J. Abrams had been picked to helm the new Star Wars movie set for 2015, but it wasn’t official until last night when StarWars.com posted the announcement.

Abrams has scored recent hits with Star Trek and Super 8 and is set to bring us Star Trek Into Darkness this summer.  He’s also produced many cult hits on screens both large and small, including “Fringe,” “Person of Interest,” “Lost,” Cloverfield and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.  Abrams has written for many of his projects such as “Lost,” “Alias,” Mission: Impossible III, which he also directed, and Armageddon.

J.J. Abrams joins Michael Arndt, who already signed on for the screenplay, and Kathleen Kennedy who will produce.  Longtime Lucasfilm collaborator Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg, writer of films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Sherlock Holmes, will consult on the new movie.

Star Wars Episode VII is schedule for a 2015 release.