"Episode VII" began pre-production on October 30, 2012. The screenplay for the film was originally set to be written by Michael Arndt, but time management and creative differences contributed to his departure from the project. On January 25, 2013, J. J. Abrams was officially announced as "Episode VII"s director and producer, along with producer Bryan Burk and Bad Robot Productions. John Williams was hired to compose the music for the entire sequel trilogy. In October, it was announced that writing duties would be taken over by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi".