Rogue One Director Gareth Edwards to Direct New Sci-Fi Movie

After a bit of a hiatus from being behind the camera, director Gareth Edwards has set up a new film project. Variety brings word that Edwards’ new films, an untitled sci-fi movie which he will write and direct, has been picked up by New Regency, the studio behind recent hits like Ad Astra, Bohemian Rhapsody, and The Revenant. Plot details are light at this point, but the film is reportedly “a near-future sci-fi story.” Casting is currently ongoing and production is being eyed to begin in the summer.

This new movie will mark Edwards’ first foray into directing since he helmed 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a film for which he was credited as director but which underwent highly publicized reshoots under the direction of filmmaker Tony Gilroy. That’s not to say Edwards wasn’t still intimately involved in the execution of the movie, but it perhaps paints a picture for why he hasn’t directed another film in the time since, it was almost certainly a gruelling process.

According to the trade, Edwards has been “developing several projects” in the years since he worked on Rogue One, airing on the side of caution about which he would make his next movie but ultimately deciding on this one. Variety also reports that New Regency “jumped at the opportunity” when Edwards started shopping the project along.

Edwards made his debut on the big screen with 2010’s Monsters, an independent movie which he wrote, directed, shot, and did much of the visual effects. The strength of that movie lead to him directing Legendary’s 2014 Godzilla reboot starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which kick-started their “Monster-Verse.” That film would go on to gross over $524 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film in the sixty year old film franchise. Gareth was originally attached to also direct the film’s sequel, the eventual Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but dropped out beforehand with director Michael Dougherty eventually stepping behind the camera. The franchise will see the fruits of its labors later this year in the culminating movie, Godzilla vs Kong.

Less than a week after his Godzilla film was released, Edwards was hired to direct what would become known as the first “Star Wars anthology movie” and later the first film in the series to carry the “A Star Wars Story” subtitle. Despite the behind-the-scenes noise surrounding the movie and its production, Rogue One would go on to gross over $1.056 billion worldwide. A prequel TV series to Rogue One focusing on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor is in development for the Disney+ streaming platform with Gilroy once again involved.

Stay tuned for more details on this mysterious new project as we learn them!