Simon Kinberg replaces original Star Wars spin-off writer

Last week, Gary Whitta left the first Star Wars spin-off film. Due to be directed by Gareth Edwards, who helmed both indie hit Monsters and last year’s blockbuster Godzilla, the standalone film will be released on December 16, 2016, and was being drafted by Whitta of The Book of Eli and After Earth. With production supposedly not far from starting, Simon Kinberg has taken on writing duties; known for his screenplays for X-Men: Days of Future Past and more notably TV series Star Wars Rebels, he sounds perfectly suited for the new role, especially since his schedule was cleared up after he passed on directing duties on the upcoming Star Trek 3. This change makes sense: Kinberg is already versed in the Star Wars universe, and his script revisions will most likely result in a movie that will be closer to the Star Wars spirit than it was before.