Gareth Edwards To Direct a STAR WARS Movie

News on the street says that director Gareth Edwards has been tapped to direct a Star Wars spin-off movie that's due out on Dec of 2016.

This is wonderful news for the director who has just come on the scene with his 2010 indie movie, Monsters.  And from there, he apparently caught the attention of the right people, and was tapped to direct the 2014 reboot of Godzilla.

And now this, becoming a member of the Disney family by landing a  directing gig of a Star Wars movie.  From indie to Star Wars.  That's just an awesome move.

This is an interesting development with Edwards landing this new gig.  That being that with news of Legendary working on a Godzilla sequel, it may have to wait on Edwards schedule as he works for the Dec 2016 Star Wars release date.

But Legendary said, in a congrats message, that they were expecting to leave time for Edwards to direct another film before picking up the Godzilla sequel job.

Then they also dropped a nugget, saying that they have a great plan in store for Godzilla fans.

It's neat to be in on the ground floor of a new director on the scene and to be able watch his entire collective... in two films, and soon, to be in a major franchise film for his third film.

Some guys have all the luck, and if you know what he did to put Monsters on the screen, you would appreciate the reward of his hard work.

Basically, he created and directed the movie.  In a van full of 7 people, he cranked out filming of Monsters over a 3 week period of time.  The film starred 2 primary characters and most extras were folks they found along their filming route in Belize, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Then when all was said and done with filming, he went home, and using off-the-shelf software, did the special effects himself.


And if you have seen or will see Monsters, you may very well be as impressed as I was with watching the movie and knowing this information.

I can't wait to see where Edwards goes after Star Wars, then the Godzilla sequel.

Congrats to Gareth Edwards in landing the Star Wars gig!

Below is the press release I received:

Gareth Edwards and Gary Whitta Onboard for Star Wars Stand-Alone Film

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 & honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm,” said Edwards.

Gary Whitta’s 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."

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