Director J.J. Abrams and veteran Star Wars scribe Lawrence Kasdan have taken over the writing on Star Wars VII, Lucasfilm announced on StarWars.com.  Michael Arndt, who had been handling the screenwriting chores (see "Arndt Confirmed as 'Episode 7' Screenwriter"), has moved on.  "Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said. 

Kasdan had previously been working as a consultant on the film.  He’d also been reported to be working on the later films in the trilogy (see "Kasdan and Kinberg for 'Star Wars'") 8 and 9, so it may be that this change will bring a more unified approach to the third trilogy. 

Kasdan wrote Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire videogame, so has extensive experience with the property.    

Casting, location scouting, production design, and costume design are underway, the announcement said, with many behind-the-camera positions filled.