In a recent interview with Inverse, Lawrence Kasdan talked about the history of ILM and his readiness to work on Solo 2.

Lawrence Kasdan Talks ILM History and Why He’s Ready to Make Solo 2

Before Raiders of the Lost Ark had even begun production, George Lucas asked the young screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan to turn around and write The Empire Strikes Back.

It’s one of those movie-making factoids that seems impossible to believe: the idea George Lucas would have handed over the keys to both of his fledgling franchises to an up-and-coming screenwriter with only two previous feature film credits. And when you talk to Lawrence Kasdan in 2022, he laughs and shakes his head. Over four decades later, even he can’t believe it.

“I had already written Raiders for him,” Kasdan tells Inverse. “And then George says, ‘Now I want you to write Empire.’ I was shocked. I was immediately thrust into that world.”

42 years, Kasdan is still in that world. His latest credit is directing Light & Magic, a deep-dive docuseries on Disney+ that lovingly chronicles the entire history of the famous VFX house Industrial Light & Magic. But he’s also responsible for co-writing the screenplay of The Force Awakens (2015), and co-writing Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) with his son Jonathan Kasdan.

When you close your eyes and think of Lawrence Kasdan’s scripts, immediately, the connective tissue between his writing style and his dialogue becomes apparent. When Kasdan is writing, the characters don’t just say things that are relatable, they say the things you wished you could say.

To read the full interview, vyou can read it over at Inverse.