While Disney hasn’t laid out a concrete release schedule for upcoming “Star Wars” movies a la Marvel and its busy Phase III superhero movie release calendar, it is generally believed that one new “Star Wars” movie will be released every year, alternating between mainline “Episode” entries like “Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens” and spin-off “Star Wars” stories that could flesh-out beloved “Star Wars” characters or delve into past events of the “Star Wars” galaxy far, far away.

The preproduction for the first of the “Star Wars” spinoff movies saw a major upheaval, as a new screenwriter was brought on to replace the current writer of the first of the “Star Wars” non-Episode movies.

"Star Wars" Movies - The Spin-Off Future

The first of the spin-off “Star Wars” movies will be directed by Gareth Edwards, who was behind this summer’s monster hit “Godzilla.” He had been collaborating with screenwriter Gary Whitta, who was behind both “Book of Eli” and “After Earth,” but it was announced on Friday that Whitta would be leaving the upcoming “Star Wars” project.

Don't Shed a "Star Wars" Tear for Gary Whitta

According to director Gareth Edwards, “Gary has been a wonderful, inspired contributor and I enjoyed working with him tremendously.” That may well have been the case, but Whitta’s rumored replacement, Simon Kinberg, is much more likely to bring the studio a good “Star Wars” movie, with “X-Men: Days of Future Past” amongst his credits (There’s quite a lot to fear on his resume as well: “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “XXX: State of the Union,” “Jumper,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “This Means War”).

While we already know the approximate trajectory of the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, beginning with the release of “Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens,” on Dec. 18 of this year, the spin-off movies are still a mystery. Current rumor has each “Star Wars” spin-off movie investigating a popular character’s past, with Boba Fett, Han Solo and Yoda all rumored to be receiving the solo “Star Wars” movie treatment.

It seems likely that Gareth Edward’s will include Boba Fett as a main character, with rumored plot for the “Star Wars” movie involving a team of bounty hunters tasked with stealing the Death Star plans in the days leading up to the first “Star Wars” movie.

If the rumors for the Gareth Edwards “Star Wars” movie are to be believed, then the selection of Simon Kinberg to continue Gary Whitta’s work makes even more sense, as Kinberg is the creator of “Star Wars Rebels,” a Disney XD cartoon set during the same time period.

While information is scarce on “Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens,” the distant “Star Wars” spin-off movies are even more of a mystery. While it seems likely that rumored characters and plot scenarios are indeed under discussion, chances are nothing is yet set in stone when it comes to the “Star Wars” spin-off movies.

“Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens” will be in theaters on Dec. 18, with the Gareth Edwards “Star Wars” movie scheduled for release the following winter, 2016.