‘Fantastic Four’ Director Josh Trank to Helm His Own ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Movie
This is turning into a massive week for 'Star Wars'! Just days after a slew of photos leaked from the set of 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' and Lucasfilm announced two new major additions to the film's cast, it was announced Wednesday that Josh Trank, the man behind 'Chronicle' and the forthcoming 'Fantastic Four' reboot, is set to helm his own 'Star Wars' spinoff movie.
While J.J. Abrams is directing 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' the first of Lucasfilm's new trilogy, continuing the franchise 30 years after 'The Empire Strikes Back' with a new trio of leads, the studio is also developing a series of standalone films that "will offer new stories beyond the core saga." Recently, we learned that 'Godzilla' (and 'Godzilla 2') director Gareth Edwards is behind the first of them, and now Trank, another face behind a hit movie, has been enlisted into the fold.
Said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy in a statement:
We're thrilled to welcome Josh into the family. He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to 'Star Wars,' and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.
"The magic of the 'Star Wars' Universe defined my entire childhood," said Trank. "The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time." We bet it is, considering his first short film was about 'Star Wars' ... and used found footage:
While 'Star Wars: Episode 7' will hit theaters December 18, 2015, Lucasfilm stated that the next trilogy installments ('Episode 8' and 'Episode 9') will drop in 2017 and 2019, with these 'Star Wars' spinoffs to be released in between. Trank is currently filming 20th Century Fox's 'Fantastic Four' reboot, which features Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman, Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic and Jamie Bell as The Thing. Trank is the man who created a new breed of found-footage and superhero movie with 'Chronicle' that set the bar for others to follow and he's masterminding a new take on Marvel's first family, making him an intriguing choice for a 'Star Wars' film.