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Disney has confirmed that it is working on stand-alone Star Wars movies.

CEO Bob Iger revealed that Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi writer Lawrence Kasdan as well as Sherlock Holmes scribe Simon Kinberg are involved in the spinoff films, set within the sci-fi universe but separate to JJ Abrams's Episode 7 and future instalments 8 and 9.

"We are in fact working on a few stand-alone films," Iger told CNBC. "Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are both working on films derived from great Star Wars characters that are not part of the overall saga.

"So we plan to make Star Wars 7, 8 and 9 over roughly a six-year period of time starting in 2015. But there are going to be a few other films released in that period of time too."

Watch Bob Iger discuss the Star Wars standalone films below:

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The announcement follows speculation that Disney and Lucasfilm are preparing an individual picture based around Yoda.

Man of Steel director Zack Snyder was also rumoured to be overseeing a Star Wars film based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, but he swiftly denied the reports.

Iger went on to confirm that Kasdan and Kinberg are also working with Abrams as consultants on Episode 7, which is being written by Toy Story 3's Michael Arndt.

DaveJB wrote:Kathleen Kennedy is in overall charge of the new Star Wars films, from what I understand, with Lucas being in a consultancy role. It still seems up in the air as to whether Abrams is just going to direct, or be heavily involved in the writing-producing side as well (though I imagine he would be, considering how much of a SW fanboy he allegedly is).

Aaron MkII wrote:It doesn't matter, or it only matters if you do 7,8 and 9.

The setting is big enough that a standalone movie can be done without referencing the OT at all.

Stark wrote:The right person is someone who can dictate a story direction that isn't 'straight into the fucking ground'. Content has been both good or bad with Magic George around, so why would it be any worse if he wasn't?

Outside of some religious veneration, I mean. He didn't stop the EU raping a dead horse for decades, after all.

ray245 wrote:Didn't Richard Berman and Brannon Braga manage to drive the Star Trek franchise into ground? It is very much possible for any of George successors to be worse than George himself.

Meest wrote:Concerned that Kasdan and company aren't involved with the main trilogy, not sure what that means for the direction of 7,8,9. I think Abrams needs a filter like Lucas did and not free reign.

The Romulan Republic wrote:And Thanas, I must say I probably would never have compared Abrams to Tarantino. Their films are very different, except in very basic or minor ways. Flash over substance could apply to perhaps half the directors in Hollywood.

Havok wrote:I think Lucasfilm would do it, but has Disney ever gone anywhere near something like a Tarantino movie? Even under one of their subsidiary companies?

Man of Steel director Zack Snyder was also rumoured to be overseeing a Star Wars film based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, but he swiftly denied the reports.