Gareth Edwards has had a meteoric rise. He went from the micro-budget Monsters to the all-conquering Godzilla and now it’s been announced that he will direct the first of the planned Star Ward spinoffs.

Here’s the official release: ‘In addition to the episodes of a new Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on multiple stand-alone movies that will offer new stories beyond the core Saga. Gareth Edwards will direct the first stand-alone film, with a screenplay by Gary Whitta. The film is due out December 16, 2016.

‘Gareth Edwards blazed into the filmmaking forefront with his acclaimed work on Monsters, a film he wrote, directed and served on as cinematographer and visual effects artist. The skill and vision readily apparent in Monsters earned him the high-profile spot directing this year’s smash hit Godzilla.

‘Said Gareth Edwards, “Ever since I saw Star Wars I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life — join the Rebel Alliance! I could not be more excited and honored to go on this mission with Lucasfilm.”

‘Gary Whitta screenwriting credits include 2010’s The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. He is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of The Walking Dead.’

At the moment it’s not known which characters’ Edwards’ Star Wars movie will focus on, although it’s believed Lucasfilm is working on movies about Boba Fett, Han Solo and Red 5 (with most expecting them in that order). It is also speculated that Yoda may be getting his own spin-off movie.

So what about the planned Godzilla sequels? Well, according to Legendary Pictures, Edwards is still attached to those and he should be able to make Star Wars as well. As Godzilla 2 is in the very early stages, the director will probably have time to go to a galaxy far, far, away before he’s expected back on the mighty lizard set.