Man of Steel director Zack Snyder is developing an Untitled Star Wars Movie that will run parallel to the new trilogy that starts with Star Wars: Episode VII. What's even more interesting is that this sci-fi drama will reportedly be loosely based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic Seven Samurai.

This new movie will be set after the events in Star Wars: Episode VII, but will not be the sequels Star Wars: Episode VIII or Star Wars: Episode IX. Insiders reveal that production will not begin until after Star Wars: Episode VII completes principal photography. Seven Samurai follows a group of samurai warriors hired by a small village to protect them from villainous bandits.

Back in November, we reported that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are writing two separate movies that will be spun off from Star Wars: Episode VII. It seems possible that Zack Snyder's new mystery movie may be a part of this spin-off trilogy, indicating that Disney's plans for an expanded Star Wars universe may be broader than previously imagined.

The work of Akira Kurosawa has long been an influence on franchise creator George Lucas. He based Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope on the 1958 Akira Kurosawa classic, which centers on two shady peasants who escort a man and a woman across enemy lines in feudal Japan, unaware that they are a princess and an Army general. George Lucas originally offered the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi to Seven Samurai star Toshirô Mifune, before landing Alec Guinness for the iconic role.

We will be sure to update you on the Untitled Zack Snyder Star Wars Movie as more information is made available.