Hey all, I never post here but I'm a big-time lurker.
Anyway, something I thought you all would find interesting- I'm a college student studying film and today my screenwriting professor (who works in the industry) told us he got a meeting with Disney to pitch for Episode VII. He said there were only a few parameters given, including:
Luke Skywalker must be included, but not necessarily anyone else from the existing films, and he must be age-appropriate for Hamill, who is 100% for sure in the movie.
Skywalker must have a new "Jedi Academy" that he has founded and oversees.
Disney/Lucasfilm are looking for a "dark" story. My professor said they're seeking out writers who have experience along those lines. They don't seem to care about experience with big movies, they just want writers who can do good characters with a serious tone.
Other than that, it sounds like the potential writers have free reign to come up with whatever they want. Apparently Skywalker doesn't even have to be the main focus, as my professor's idea centers on a new protagonist and Skywalker appears more as a supporting character.
His meeting is sometime within the next week or two I think. If he doesn't get the gig I can tell you what his idea was. :D