Gareth Edwards can’t complain. Having steered the Godzilla franchise towards box office domination and attracting sequel attention from Warner Bros. and Lionsgate, he’s been tapped to direct the first Star Wars spin-off film since Disney said ‘we’ll take the lot’ and handed over $ 4b+.
“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,” read a statement on Starwars.com
“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.
Want To Win A Role In ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’? Step Right This Way
It’s true that Edwards knows how to handle big action, but with ‘Monsters’ he made gigantic beings part of the background, seamlessly alchemising romance with big science fiction. That’s kind-of part of the Star Wars ethos – life, love, death and sorrow are all parts of George Lucas’ universe as much as X-Wings, Death Stars and lightsabers are. This is a good sign.
But that won’t stop old-school, hardcore fans of the franchise having their doubts. The people that were kids when ‘A New Hope’ came out are in their 40s and 50s now, while the younger generation that couldn’t help fall in love with the franchise’s first three (chronologically, not in the series) films have been inundated with plenty of Star Wars crap labelled as ‘spin-off’ material.
Confirmed: Gareth Edwards to Direct ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Off – Boba Fett? Yoda?
J.J Abrams seems to be having a good time filming Episode VII, and the naysayers that made noise about his work with Star Trek, and the doubters, seemed to have piped down a notch. But what do you think – is the Star Wars franchise in line for a final blow, or does a spin-off directed by Gareth Edwards excite you as a Star Wars fan? Have your say in our poll below.
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