You almost certainly know that Star Wars: Episode VII is coming to theaters in 2015, courtesy of director J.J. Abrams and Disney, the franchise’s new owner. You might not have known that spin-off movies are planned for the years between installments of the new trilogy–and Gary Whitta is penning the screenplay of the first, due to release in 2016.
Previously, Whitta wrote the screenplay for 2010’s The Book of Eli. Gamers might know him better as one of the authorial minds behind Telltale’s Walking Dead episodic series. He started with Telltale Games as lead writer on Episode 4: Around Every Corner and has overseen narrative development since.
Actually, Whitta’s video game credits extend further back. He worked on Gears of War, Prey, and Duke Nukem Forever, while consulting on other projects for the likes of Microsoft, EA, and Activision.
The other part of the announcement is that Gareth Edwards, director of last week’s Godzilla remake, will direct 2016’s Star Wars spin-off.