Filmmaker Gareth Edwards put himself on the map with Monsters and was later tasked with taking the helm of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for Lucasfilm.
The movie was a critical and commercial hit, though we've heard about issues behind the scenes which reportedly saw Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy placed in charge of extensive reshoots to reshape the final act. We haven't seen anything from Edwards since, though he's finally returned with an original sci-fi project in this month's The Creator.
While speculation has run rampant about Edwards' decision to walk away from Hollywood for such a lengthy period, it sounds like the director simply felt he needed time to take a breather and reassess.
"I needed to get off the merry-go-round, do you know what I mean?" he says in an interview with SFX. "In Hollywood, you can get stuck on the hamster wheel, or whatever analogy you want to use. I just wanted to get off and have a break to take some time thinking about the next thing."
"I got to make a very low-budget science fiction film with Monsters, and I realized there were some serious advantages to having no money. It was kind of a shock to have all the money you could ever want, and still be limited," he said of making Rogue One. "I felt like if I could somehow get that big bag of cash and send it back in time to me when I was making Monsters, the possibilities would have been infinite."
"And so, in a weird way, I was trying to find that kind of scenario again. I was as much interested in the process of how to make the film as I was the idea."
So, no, Edwards didn't end up in a director's jail for whatever may or may not have gone wrong with Rogue One. It doesn't sound like he wants to return to franchise filmmaking and has instead set out to find himself again in an effort to recapture the magic he found with his earlier projects.
Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua, a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war...and mankind itself.
Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory, only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child.
The movie stars Washington (Tenet), Gemma Chan (Eternals), Ken Watanabe (Inception), Sturgill Simpson (Dog), newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Academy Award winner Allison Janney (I, Tonya).
Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz penned The Creator's screenplay, from a story by Edwards. The filmmaker also produces alongside Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, and Arnon Milchan. while the executive producers are Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Natalie Lehmann, Nick Meyer, and Zev Foreman.
The Creator is set to be released in theaters on September 29.