It’s good to be the king of the King of Monsters.
As if director Gareth Edwards‘ month couldn’t get any better (what with his latest film, “Godzilla,” positively trouncing the box-office in its opening weekend), in comes the news that he’s been tapped to direct the first official “Star Wars” spinoff.
It’s great news for fans, first for the obvious reason that there are now two “Star Wars” movies officially on the calendar, one year apart from each other. It’s also great news because Edwards is a very talented and promising young filmmaker, as evidenced by “Godzilla.”
Even if “Godzilla” wasn’t your cup of tea, there’s no denying Edwards’ eye for action, his eye for scale, and his eye for creature design. All good things when it comes to a “Star Wars” film. As for what else Edwards’ work on “Godzilla” tells us about his upcoming entry in the “Star Wars” franchise…
1. Edwards attracts talent. Bryan Cranston was the standout in “Godzilla,” arguably the only standout in the human cast, but he was surrounded by equally talented, well-established actors like Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, and Elizabeth Olsen. They didn’t quite pop in “Godzilla,” but that’s a story issue, not a performance problem. If Edwards can attract a similar level of talent for “Star Wars,” the spinoff is going to be a well-acted film.
2. Edwards likes surprises. He doesn’t quite adhere to J.J. Abrams’ “mystery box,” but he likes his secrets. The big twist with Cranston’s character (which won’t be repeated here in case you’re one of the three people who still hasn’t seen “Godzilla” for whatever reason) came out of nowhere, given the “Breaking Bad” actor’s prominence in the marketing campaign. Expect some similarly big swerves in Edwards’ take on “Star Wars.”
3. Edwards is a tease. In terms of Godzilla the monster, viewers didn’t get to see the full enchilada until midway through the film, and even then, it was just an early look ahead of the King of Monsters’ big battle in the final act. It was a bold choice to withhold Godzilla in a movie called “Godzilla,” and while we wouldn’t expect a similar treatment for Boba Fett in a “Boba Fett” movie (one of the mostly popularly theorized subjects of the “Star Wars” spinoff), it shows that he likes his blockbusters out-of-the-box and, to an extent, out of sight.
The monsters and the mayhem speak for themselves. Edwards’ experience with creature design, and his affinity for beasts of all shapes and sizes, is very well-documented. Basically, everything that Edwards has done in his film career thus far speaks very well for his suitability for a “Star Wars” movie.
We’ll see how it all shakes out when the spinoff arrives on December 16, 2016.
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