‘Star Wars’ Writer Chris Weitz Says to ‘Expect Everything’

All major films go through a few screenwriters, but most of the time, it’s quiet, behind-the-scenes affair. But when Gary Whitta completed his work on Gareth Edwards’ mysterious Star Wars spin-off film and Chris Weitz stepped in to pen a rewrite, the internet reacted as the internet always reacts to Star Wars news: it blew the news up and carefully examined every single fragment. Now, a month of so after landing the gig, Weitz has spoken up about his work on the film.

Weitz is no stranger to overzealous fans (he made a Twilight film after all), so his new interview with Slashfilm reads like a guy who is used to working on major projects and keeping the details close to the vest. Like everyone else currently working in the Star Wars industry, Weitz is exceptional at speaking at length about his work without actually saying anything.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t pick apart his every work and look for something to get excited for or complain about!

First, here’s Weitz discussing the process of taking over screenwriting duties from Whitta and how his love of the series transformed his job into something far more extraordinary:

...in a weird way, it was like meeting for any assignment. Go in, talk about how you work and talk about the idea, but of course there was A) A huge security component to it. I wasn’t able to see the script until kind of after I was brought on board. And B) I saw Star Wars when I was 7 and it was a formative experience in my life, let alone in the notion of filmmaking. I’m probably only working on this stuff because I did have that experience then. But it completely possessed me when I was a child and it was a huge part of my kind of emotional make up. So I tried to be as cool as possible in these meetings while still being aware if I got the assignment I was going to be able to work on something I’ve been dreaming of doing.

When asked what fans could expect from the new film, Weitz gave the best non-answer we’ve heard in a long time:

They need to expect everything because it’s Star Wars. They have to. If I don’t do that I’m failing in my job.

That’s how you play the press game, ladies and gentlemen. That quote is going to get people excited and it literally says nothing. Nothing Weitz says in the full interview (which has a lot more for you to sift through) confirms any of the rumors we have heard about the film’s plot or characters. With the film set to film later this year, we will surely start to hear more about it in the coming months, but it certainly won’t come from Weitz.

In the meantime, fans can look forward to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens on December 18, 2015.