Abrams and Kasdan assuming Episode VII screenwriting role. Arndt out?

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Well this is certainly something. Maybe this is cause for alarm, maybe it isn’t. We don’t know much more beyond this little bit of information:

This was confirmed a few minutes later on the official site.

As Episode VII continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of several classic Lucasfilm productions, writing the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and serving as co-screenwriter for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Acclaimed director and screenwriter Abrams’ credits include Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Fringe, and Lost.

“I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script,” states 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. J.J. 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.”

What exactly this means is a mystery right now. Does this mean that Abrams and Kasdan have Michael Arndt’s screenplay in hand and are in the polishing stage, or does it mean that Arndt is out?

So we know a little more than we did before about Episode VII, but as often happens with these things we’ve now got even more questions and concerns.