In early 2012, after being disappointed by the weak performance of "Red Tails", Lucas announced to "The New York Times" that he was planning to retire. While he was in New York, he asked Kathleen Kennedy to lunch. He asked if she would be a at Lucasfilm with him, with the intention of transferring leadership entirely to her after about a year. She began working for him on June 1, 2012; Lucas soon proposed that they work together on the sequel trilogy. They brought in Michael Arndt to write a draft of "Episode VII" based on Lucas's synopsis. "Star Wars" screenwriting veteran Lawrence Kasdan was hired to support Arndt. After making an appearance at "Star Wars" Celebration VI in late August, Lucas took Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to lunch and asked if they would be willing to reprise their roles for the new films. They agreed, as did Harrison Ford after being promised that Han Solo would be given meaningful closure.