It was officially announced today that Gareth Edwards, director of the massive, opening weekend hit Godzilla, will direct the first of multiple Star Wars stand-alone movies, offering stories beyond the upcoming trilogy beginning with the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Wars: Episode VII. Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) with a December 16, 2016 release date set, one year after Episode VII hits theaters, suggesting there will be at least one Star Wars film each year, beginning in 2015.
Edwards was quoted in the announcement saying, “Ever since I saw Star Wars I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life – join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited & honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm.”
Whitta also added a similar sentiment saying, “From the moment I first saw the original movie as a wide-eyed kid, Star Wars has been the single most profound inspiration to my imagination and to my career as a writer. It is deeply special to me,so to be given the opportunity to contribute to its ongoing legacy, especially in collaboration with a film-maker as talented as Gareth, is literally a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.”
As of now there are no details on what exactly the story will focus on though there have been rumors of spin-off films focusing on Boba Fett, Han Solo, Yoda and Red Five in the past and Lucasfilm and Disney have previously stated Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan were writing two of them, but those films may have been bumped.
This also suggests Edwards probably won’t direct the already in-development Godzilla 2.
UPDATE: Legendary has confirmed Edwards is still involved with Godzilla 2, for more information click here.
