The first in a series of big-screen Star Wars stand-alone films will be titled Rogue One. The announcement was made by Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger at a shareholder meeting.

Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct from a script from Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). Felicity Jones, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in The Theory Of Everything, is the first name confirmed to star in Rogue One, which will be filmed in London this summer for a release on December 16th next year.

Rian Johnson, who won much praise for his time-travel film Looper, was also confirmed as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode VIII. The follow up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens later this year, will be released on May 26th 2017, 40 years and one day after the release of George Lucas's original blockbuster Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.