VIDEO: Official: John Williams Talks Scoring STAR WARS: EPISODE VII!

It's official! Longtime STAR WARS composer John Williams will be returning to score the franchise's latest entry, STAR WARS: EPISODE VII. ComingSoon.net confirmed that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced the news today at Star Wars Celebration Europe. Below, the legendary composer talks about returning to a galaxy far, far away. Click to watch!

In a career spanning over six decades, Williams has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in cinematic history, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Home Alone and its sequel, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and the first three Harry Potter films. He has had a long association with director Steven Spielberg, composing the music for all but two (Duel and The Color Purple) of Spielberg's major feature films.

Other notable works by Williams include theme music for four Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, the NBC Nightly News, the Statue of Liberty's rededication, and the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants. Williams has also composed numerous classical concerti, and he served as the Boston Pops Orchestra's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993; he is now the orchestra's conductor laureate.

Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards and twenty-one Grammy Awards. With forty-eight Academy Award nominations, Williams is the second most-nominated person, after Walt Disney. ] Williams was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 1999 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.

Also consulting on the project are Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg. Kasdan has a long history with Lucasfilm, as screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi. Kinberg was writer on Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

The studio is also developing standalone films featuring characters from the franchise. Disney's Bob Iger also revealed that he's looking to expand sales of "Star Wars" merchandise overseas, while ABC and Lucasfilm are discussing a possible live-action TV series.

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