Huh: Gareth Edwards to Direct Star Wars Spinoff; Gary Whitta to Write

Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards made his first big splash with _Monsters_ and love it or hate it _Godzilla_ has made all the money in the last week. So where to next? Star Wars, obviously.

[StarWars.com](http://starwars.com/news/gareth-edwards-and-gary-whitta-onboard-for-star-wars-stand-alone-film.html) has the news:

> In addition to the episodes of a new Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on multiple stand-alone movies that will offer new stories beyond the core Saga. Gareth Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta. The film is due out December 16, 2016.

> Gareth Edwards blazed into the filmmaking forefront with his acclaimed work on Monsters, a film he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. The skill and vision readily apparent in Monsters earned him the high-profile spot directing this year’s smash hit Godzilla.

> “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 and honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm,” said Edwards.

> Gary Whittas screenwriting credits include 2010’s The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. He is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of The Walking Dead.

> Whitta states, “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.”

The question now becomes what is their star wars movie going to be about? The rumour mill has settle on young Han Solo, Boba Fett, and a story about X-Wing Red Squadron called Red 5 as being the first three spin offs but which is it? We really have no idea but since the first one _was_ to be Boba Fett and Lawrence Kasdan was meant to write that …. well no, I still have no idea.

I will say this though: I liked Monsters but didn’t Godzilla didn’t work for me. I do see what they were going for though and based on the idea that Edwards can pull that kind of filmmaking off? I sincerely hope that he’s making Red 5. Big spectacle action seems his forte, not human drama.

No matter what this is pretty big news. We’ll keep you posted as more info becomes available.