By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Researchers, documentary filmmakers and others will soon be able to get their hands on screenwriter and director Lawrence Kasdan’s papers at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

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Archivists are about a quarter of the way through cataloging the 150-plus boxes of material that document the 76-year-old filmmaker’s role in bringing to life iconic characters like Indiana Jones and Yoda, and directing actors ranging from Geena Davis and Glenn Close to Morgan Freeman and Kevin Costner.

“All I wanted to ever do was be a movie director. And so, all the details meant something to me,” Kasdan said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I couldn’t be happier to have this mass of stuff available to anybody who is interested.”

The archive includes scripts, call sheets and still photos — including a few rarities.

Before Costner became an Oscar winner and Hollywood icon, he worked various studio jobs while taking nighttime drama lessons. His break — or so he thought — came when Kasdan cast him in 1983’s “The Big Chill.”

Phil Hallman, a University of Michigan film studies librarian, looks through folders in the Lawrence Kasdan collection, Nov. 24, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Costner played Alex, whose death brings his fellow Michigan alums together. Unfortunately his big flashback scene ended up on the cutting-room floor.

What are believed to be among the only existing photographs of the famously deleted scene are part of the Kasdan collection, now housed in Ann Arbor.

“Different people will be interested in different things,” Kasdan said, pointing to his work writing the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” screenplay as one possible destination for researchers. The archive features audio cassette recordings of Kasdan discussing the film with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. It also includes Polaroids taken of cast and crew members on the sets of his movies.

Lawrence Kasdan’s director chair is on display, along with a framed photo of him on set and his Writers Guild award, on University of Michigan campus, Nov. 24, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

There are props, too, including a cowboy hat from the 1985 Western “Silverado,” worn by none other than Costner. Kasdan and the kid from California would work together again on “Wyatt Earp” in the ’90s. Costner also starred in “The Bodyguard,” which Kasdan wrote.

A number of unproduced scripts also are part of the collection.

“I’ve always considered myself a director and a writer. And if you are really interested in any particular movie, you can follow the evolution of that movie in the archive,” Kasdan said.

Library staff members are working chronologically through Kasdan’s material, meaning the papers for Kasdan’s earliest work — including “Body Heat” and “The Big Chill,” as well as the scripts for two “Star Wars” classics, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” — can be accessed first.

Phil Hallman, a University of Michigan film studies librarian, holds a cassette tape of Lawrence Kasdan and other filmmakers discussing plans for, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” on Nov. 24, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

The remaining material should be completely processed by late 2026, said Phil Hallman, the curator of the collection. Hallman hopes to have Kasdan visit, perhaps next fall, to see the archive and take part in a symposium.

Kasdan’s papers are part of the University of Michigan Library’s Screen Arts Mavericks and Makers Collection, which includes Orson Welles, Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Nancy Savoca and John Sayles. Kasdan, who grew up in West Virginia and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a master’s two years later, is the lone Michigan alum among the group.

Phil Hallman, a University of Michigan film studies librarian, holds a photo of actor Kevin Costner, Nov. 24, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

“To be there, held in the same place as those wonderful directors, is really a great honor,” Kasdan said.