The first Star Wars stand-alone film will be called Rogue One, Lucasfilm has revealed, while Looper helmer Rian Johnson has been confirmed to write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) is directing Rogue One, which StarWars.com describes as "the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga." Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz) is scripting, wigh Gary Whitta (After Earth, The Book of Eli) having written the first draft of the film, and Felicity Jones set to star in the project. Little is known about the film's story, though rumors have indicated that it could involve a group of bounty hunters who are involved in a heist of some kind -- possibly to steal the plans to the Death Star.

"The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic," reports the site. "He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016."