A couple of weeks ago we heard a rumor that Simon Kinberg was taking over the writing on Gareth Edwards‘ ‘Star Wars’ spinoff film. Now we know that was clearly just a rumor. Now that Gary Whitta (‘The Book of Eli,’ ‘After Earth‘) has left the project after completing the first draft, Chris Weitz (‘About a Boy’,’The Golden Compass’) has now stepped in to finish up the script.
Whitta left on good terms stating s he mentioned that “the year I spent working with Lucasfilm on this Star Wars film has been by far the most rewarding period of my entire career. As a lifelong Star Wars fan I’m deeply grateful to have had the rare opportunity to contribute to a new chapter in its ongoing cinematic legacy. The film is going to be amazing.”
Edwards was very “grateful for all of his contributions” so here’s hoping that Weitz is able to deliver just as solid of an impact when finishing the script. Weitz’ work has received Oscar nominations in the past and while not a long track record, he has a very solid one.
It would appear that two sets of writers seems to be the trend in the now-Disney owned franchise. This started when ‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens‘ had switched writers from Michael Arndt to the duo of J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan.
With a release date of December 16th, 2016, there is still plenty of time to finish fleshing out the plot as early casting has only recently begun on the film.
Are you looking forward to the ‘Star Wars’ spin-off movies? Do you take these writer changes as the studio trying to find more creativity or a bad sign on a story set in a galaxy far far away?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
