If the name Chris Weitz sounds somewhat familiar, he’s the writer / director of About a Boy. He’s also helmed The Golden Compass, and Twilight: A New Moon. Now Weitz is going to write the first Star Wars spin-off movie, which Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will be directing.
According to Slash Film, the first Star Wars stand alone movie, which has a December 16, 2016 release date, may be about “a group of bounty hunters stealing plans for the first Death Star, with both Boba Fett and Han Solo slated to appear.”
Variety also just reported that Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) is slated to appear in this Star Wars spin-off flick, but Disney is looking at Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black). Variety speculates that the spin-off could be (gasp!) prequels, “focusing on the early days of Princess Leia and Han Solo.”
We’re not nuts about this idea, because I think we’ve had enough of the Death Star being built and all that. Then again, now that Lucas isn’t writing them, could there be better origin stories now? We’ll find out in 2016, but again, first things first with The Force Awakens coming on December 18. (Less than a year now…)
