Disney plans 'Star Wars' stand-alone films

Disney plans to expand the 'Star Wars' universe even further with stand-alone films focusing on characters outside the main saga. Those spin-off films would be in addition to the next three installments the company is making after acquiring Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise in a USD 4 billion deal last October, the Hollywood Reporter said. There are no details yet about what direction the offshoots will take � a Yoda storyline seems to be a popular choice online. But Disney has brought on Lawrence Kasdan, who helped write 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi', and Simon Kinberg, producer of 'X-Men: First Class', for the planned spinoffs. Disney CEO Bob Iger described the 'Star Wars' spinoffs as "films derived from great 'Star Wars' characters that are not part of the overall saga," and hinted the films could be released alongside the new 'Star Wars' trilogy. "We still plan to make 'Star Wars' VII, VIII and IX roughly over a six-year period of time starting in 2015," said Iger. "But there are going to be a few other films released in that period of time, too." JJ Abrams has already signed on as director for 'Star Wars: Episode VII', set for release in 2015. 'Toy Story 3' writer Michael Ardnt is set to write the screenplay.