In the current economic landscape, America leads the world in exports of pharmaceutical drugs, ranch-based dipping sauces, and righteous outrage. But American manufacturing currently has its eye on another market ripe for cornering: the Star Wars industry. Sure, J.J. Abrams intends to roll out Episode VII: The Force Awakens in December 2015, with Rian Johnson locked in to helm the still-untitled Episode VIII, and a ninth episode coming down the pike as well. But when the Walt Disney Company decides the time has come to strip-mine the oil-rich land that is childhood nostalgia, it leaves no resource untapped. Godzilla director Gareth Edwards has already agreed to head up one of “at least three” Star Wars spin-off projects, and our good ol’ Kate Erbland reported last week that Edwards was in hot pursuit of a badass leading lady for his new film. Today, another development will change the forecast on a project still taking shape.

Edwards originally hired English screenwriter Gary Whitta to draw up a first draft of the spin-off (which has yet to officially designate its subject material). But The Hollywood Reporter notes now that Whitta has left the project on good terms, after completing a first draft of the film earlier this month. Whitta will be replaced by fellow scribe Chris Weitz, who first gained recognition within the industry for his adaptation of Nick Hornby’s About A Boy. 

Whether this swap constitutes a trade up or down remains unclear, however. Both Weitz and Whitta have experience when it comes to big-budget fantasy, but both of their forays into the genre fail to inspire confidence. (Weitz directed The Golden Compass and Twilight 2: New Moon Boogaloo, while Whitta scripted The Book Of Eli and After Earth—the latter of which, in case anyone has forgotten, stars Will Smith as a character named Cypher Raige.) But Weitz more recently directed the excellent, well-observed A Better Life. If we were to compile a big pros ’n’ cons list, that’s a tick in Weitz’s pro column that Whitta cannot match. Perhaps this was a wise move for Edwards.