Disney has found yet another director to helm its growing roster of Star Wars spin-off films. Josh Trank, director of found footage superhero film Chronicle, has just been tapped to direct one of the many upcoming films set in the Star Wars universe.
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This is the second announcement in as many weeks from Disney and Lucasfilm. It was previously announced that Godzilla directer Gareth Edwards will also helm a standalone Star Wars feature. Disney is certainly being imaginative with their casting, Edwards and Trank, while not hugely known quantities, are both hungry and imaginative directors whose future work I look forward to seeing.
As excited as I was for Edwards, I am even more excited to see what Trank, who is currently set to helm the Fantastic Four reboot, will do with the franchise. His Chronicle is, essentially, a ninety minute version of the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy. It charts the rise to power and corruption of a young man who can manipulate objects with his mind and hands. Sound familiar? Brilliant film and you should check it out if you haven't already.
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In a statement that should surprise no one, Trank states, "The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood. The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time." Hell, every young person who ever directed anything after 1977 has been influenced by Star Wars!
"We're thrilled to welcome Josh into the family," says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. "He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX."
No word yet on which character Trank or Edwards' standalone film will follow. Trank's Star Wars will come after Abrams' Star Wars Episode VII, set to release on December 18 of next year.
