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.
