Disney has announced the screenwriter-director combo who will helm the new Star Wars standalone film. The writer will be Gary Whitta, a tech nerd turned screenwriter who has written the dialogue to some of the best adventure games on the Mac and iPad. As for the director? He’s behind the number one movie at the box office right now, Godzilla.
According to StarWars.com, Gary Whitta will be the screenwriter for the new Star Wars standalone film.
He’s an interesting choice for screenwriter. A jovial and good-humored Brit who got his start as an editor for PC Gamer, Whitta is a tech lover, and can often be heard on the Tested podcast. His best work is perhaps his work in video games, having written the script of the well-beloved Telltale Games The Walking Dead adventure game series.
On the movie front, though, Whitta’s record is spotty. His two major credits are the 2013 Will and Jaden Smith vehicle After Earth, which was widely panned, and 2011’s The Book of Eli, which scores 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. He’s also the screenwriter of the upcoming Warcraft movie.
Can Whitta do better with Star Wars? It’s unknown, but he’s certainly going to have incredible help. Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is slated to direct Whitta’s screenplay. A phenomenal director who broke on to the scene with the indie kaiju hit Monsters, Edwards has proven he has what it takes to deliver blockbuster results.
Our take? Between Whitta and Edwards, the new Star Wars standalone film is looking like a winner. Whitta has had some missteps, but the Walking Dead series proves he has a great deal of talent. Given free reign and a sympathetic director like Edwards, this could be the best Star Wars movie since Empire.
The untitled Star Wars stand-alone film will debut in 2016. It is widely rumored to focus on the adventures of fan favorite Boba Fett.
Source: Star Wars
