Director JJ Abrams has taken over scriptwriting duties on the new Star Wars film.

Abrams, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark writer Lawrence Kasdan, will now be penning the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode VII, Lucasfilm confirmed in a statement.

Much fuss was made when Oscar-winning Toy Story 3 scribe Michael Arndt was given the job, but his role in the creation of the new movie is now unknown, Entertainment Weekly reported.

In a statement, Lucasfilm said Arndt had done a "terrific job" of "bringing us to this point".

"I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and JJ working on the script," said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

"There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen.

"JJ of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production."

Star Wars: Episode VII is due for release in mid-2015.

- nzherald.co.nz