Gareth Edwards will continue Godzilla trilogy after Star Wars spinoff movie

By Rick Marshall May 23, 2014

Godzilla movie review — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the wake of yesterday’s news that Godzilla director Gareth Edwards will take on one of the upcoming Star Wars spin-off films planned after Episode VII, many wondered whether the filmmaker would return for another adventure with the king of monsters. Any concerns about Edwards’ future plans regarding Godzilla were laid to rest, however, with a statement from Godzilla co-producer Legendary Entertainment released after the Star Wars news.

“Gareth’s filmmaking talent makes him one of his generation’s most creative and visionary directors,” said Legendary Entertainment CEO Thomas Tull in a statement released yesterday afternoon. “The plan has always been for Gareth to direct a different film before we started on another Godzilla, but who knew it would a Star Wars installment? We have a great plan in store for Godzilla fans and I am looking forward to seeing Gareth’s imprint on the Star Wars universe.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Edwards is not only attached to direct the sequel to Godzilla, but also a subsequent, third film in the series.

With Edwards’ unidentified Star Wars spin-off scheduled to hit theaters December 16, 2016, he’ll have plenty of time to make the transition from that back to the Godzilla universe once a script is finished for the latter project. A joint production of Legendary and Warner Bros., Godzilla has been a pleasant surprise for the studios, finding success at both the box office — to the tune of a $93.1 million opening weekend — and among critics, where it’s currently holding steady at an impressive 73% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

There aren’t any official release dates for the Godzilla sequels at this point.

All things considered, it’s an impressive trajectory for a filmmaker whose only feature-length film prior to Godzilla was 2010’s Monsters, made for under $1 million.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Entertainment

From Godzilla to The Creator, Gareth Edwards makes beautiful doomsday blockbusters like no one else

A monk-like android sees a hostile drone shift emerge from the clouds in the distance.

The Creator 20th Century Studios / 20th Century Studios

"Oh, it's beautiful," says Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) as he witnesses the first demonstration of the Death Star's power in Rogue One. Orson is the villain of this "Star Wars story" — a bastard functionary of The Empire — but he's right for once. From far away, from the safety of space, that brilliant bloom of orange consuming a whole city is strangely beautiful. So is most of the destruction in the doomsday blockbusters of Gareth Edwards, the British filmmaker who directed Rogue One… or a lot of it, anyway.

Entertainment

One year ago, Andor changed Star Wars forever

Cassian Andor looks forward with purpose in Andor episode 3.

When Andor premiered one year ago this week, the general response to its first three episodes, which all dropped on Disney+ at the same time, was … interesting. While everyone seemed to welcome the Rogue One prequel with open arms and positive reviews, some were quick to express their concerns over the show’s pace. On the one hand, it’s not hard to see why. Andor's first three installments essentially serve as both the series' inciting incident and its prologue.

The show’s opening chapters split their time between flashbacks to Cassian Andor’s (Diego Luna) traumatic childhood on the war-torn planet of Kenari and the present-day fallout of his impulsive decision to kill a pair of Imperial-adjacent officials. It isn’t until the end of Andor’s third episode that his backstory has been fully fleshed out and he’s actually left his adoptive planet of Ferrix with Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), the rebel leader who will jumpstart Cassian’s own radicalization. On paper, that might make it seem very little happens across Andor’s first three episodes.

Entertainment

The best Star Wars shows on Disney+

Rosario Dawson in Ahsoka.

Disney+ began with a promise that the much-hyped Disney streaming service meant that multiple Star Wars live-action series could finally be made. It took a few years after the 2019 premiere of The Mandalorian, but we're finally at a point where we can make an actual list of the best Star Wars shows on Disney+. In fact, the live-action series are almost as numerous as the animated shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels that kept the franchise going between the films.

Ahsoka is the latest Star Wars series to join Disney+, and it serves as a bridge between the animated programs and the live-action shows that may carry the franchise back to the big screen. Ahsoka is not as gritty or political as Andor, but there's a lot to like. If you're new to the franchise or a Star Wars veteran who just wants to know where to catch up on your favorite space opera, we've put together this guide to the best Star Wars shows on Disney+. May the Force be with you when streaming!