Gareth Edwards has made the ultimate fanboy leap from Godzilla to Star Wars, as Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that Edwards would direct the initial standalone (from a script by Book of Eli’s Gary Whitta to be released Dec. 16, 2016).

No word yet on whether it will be bounty hunter Boba Fett, Jedi master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Han Solo.

“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,” said Edwards, who began as a VFX artist before directing the low-budget Monsters.

Whitta’s  is also well known as a journalist and editor in the video game industry, as well as part of the BAFTA award-winning team on Telltale Games adaptation of The Walking Dead.

Whitta states, “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.”