Gareth Edwards' Star Wars Spinoff Based On The Force Awakens Characters

Get Your Geek On has posted some interesting Star Wars quotes from Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company Robert A. Iger, that were included in Disney shareholders report.

"As one of the few people allowed to visit the set during filming….and one of the fewer who's seen most of the footage…I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one will be worth the wait. And it's only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we'll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we'll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019." - Bob Iger (Disney CEO)

Okay, so what did we learn? The most interesting bit of information is that Iger brought up the 2016 Star Wars standalone film, which will be directed by Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla"). Saying it will be "based on these characters," which is referring to characters from J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Okay, but does that mean the new characters like Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron, Daisy Ridley's Rey, or John Boyega's Finn? Or, is that a cheeky way of saying it is about Han Solo, Luke Skywalker or Leia Organa? All of the plot rumors point to it being about a young Han Solo. That would fit with what Iger said. But, he said characters and not character. Who else from the film is referring to?

He said Rian Johnson's Star Wars Episode VIII and IX will be released in 2017 and 2018. Nothing shocking here, but he refers to it as the end of "this trilogy." You could read into it that Disney already has plans for another trilogy to follow "this" one.

There is a glaring omission in Iger's statement. Why didn't Iger mention the standalone film that Fantastic Four director Josh Trank is working on?

Gareth Edwards' Star Wars standalone film hits theaters Dec. 16, 2016

(via Slash Film & Star Wars Underworld)