In what is good news for fans of the original trilogy, new reports have confirmed that Episode 7 screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan has written significant parts for the original cast -- Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford.

According to MassLive.com, director J.J. Abrams parted ways with the original screenwriter, Michael Arndt, because he under-utilized the original cast. The original storyline focused on the Skywalker and Solo children, whereas the new storyline focuses on the original castmembers. But never fear... the children of the Skywalkers and the Solos will have supporting roles in the films.

Meanwhile, additional casting rumors have emerged from Hollywood, according to Metro. Michael Fassbender, last seen in 12 Years a Slave, reportedly met with JJ Abrams in December. Also reported to have met with Abrams for roles are Adam Driver of HBO's Girls, and Hugo Weaving of V for Vendetta.

Finally, could it be that Obi-Wan Kenobi had offspring? According to Metro, a casting call officially put out by Lucasfilm called for a 20-something year old actress, reportedly black or mixed race. Metro speculates that rather than being the offspring of Lando Calrissian(which would be the logical conclusion) or a whole new character altogether (which would be just as logical), this new cast member is from Obi-Wan's bloodline. Of course, there were also rumors back in the day that Owen Lars was Obi-Wan's brother instead of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's step-brother. Still, it would be interesting if Metro's predictions came to pass, if only to explore Obi-Wan's origin story. What do you all think?