A few days ago word broke that Gary Whitta was no longer writing Gareth Edwards' standalone Star Wars film, leaving the question open as to who would be replacing him. With production likely to get underway soon in order to hit the target 2016 release date, Slashfilm is now hearing that Whitta's replacement may be Simon Kinberg, who has a hand in just about every geek movie franchise in Hollywood.
There's no confirmation from Lucasfilm on this so right now it's just a rumor, but Kinberg taking over makes perfect sense. Kinberg's been a part of the Star Wars braintrust and is a consultant on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and is working on the standalone features as well. He was also the creator of the popular Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels. Along with his work on 20th Century Fox's X-men and Fantastic Four franchises Kinberg is pretty much everywhere.
The priority at Lucasfilm has to be getting the screenplay finished quickly, and Kinberg is definitely the guy for that. It's rumored Edwards' film will center on bounty hunters attempting to steal Death Star plans, which could be an amazing story if done right. Production is expected to begin later this year at Pinewood Studios.
