J.J. Abrams' Episode VII to Honor Not Revere Star Wars' Past

Speaking at the Produced By Conference on Saturday, Star Wars: Episode VII director J.J. Abrams said he plans on moving to the U.K. at the end of this year to begin filming the long-awaited sequel in early 2014.
"It is so massive and so important to people," Abrams said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I think the key to moving forward on something like this is honoring but not revering what came before."

Deadline posted the following passage about Abrams' reluctance to discuss Episode VII in any real detail at the conference:
“'No comment,' replied Abrams with a smile on his face to a question from [filmmaker-moderator Reginald] Hudlin if the new Star Wars movies would be based partially on the dozens of novels that have come out over the years bridging various unexplored aspects of the films’ characters."
It was rumored in February that Episodes VII-IX will focus on the offspring of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo, although it wasn't clear if that meant Expanded Universe creations such as Ben Skywalker, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo and Anakin Solo or brand new characters made just for the movies.

via IGN