Hot on the heels of the worldwide success of his reboot of Godzilla, Gareth Edwards has been handed the keys to another franchise, with the announcement that he will be directing the first of Disney’s planned Star Wars spin-off films. The new movie – which is connected to, but separate from JJ Abrams’ Episode VII which has just begun shooting – will be released on December 16, 2016 with a screenplay by Gary Whitta.

Edwards told StarWars.com, “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.”

Whitta added, “From the moment I first saw the original movie as a wide-eyed kid, Star Wars has been the single most profound inspiration to my imagination and to my career as a writer. It is deeply special to me, so to be given the opportunity to contribute to its ongoing legacy, especially in collaboration with a film-maker as talented as Gareth, is literally a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself.”

This will push back a Godzilla sequel by some time, but Legendary Pictures Thomas Tull was quick to congratulate Edwards: “Gareth’s filmmaking talent makes him one of his generation’s most creative and visionary directors. The plan has always been for Gareth to direct a different film before we started on another Godzilla, but who knew it would a Star Wars installment? We have a great plan in store for Godzilla fans and I am looking forward to seeing Gareth’s imprint on the Star Wars universe.”

No word yet as to which of the various characters this could feature.