Star Wars 2016 stand-alone film loses writer Gary Whitta

Gary Whitta, the former PC Gamer editor-in-chief and writer of Book of Eli, is no longer attached to write next year's Star Wars movie, the stand-alone film scheduled to hit after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"My year of work in a galaxy far, far away is done!" Whitta said on Twitter, adding that he's moving on to another project, an adaptation of Mark Millar's Starlight comic book series for 20th Century Fox. Whitta has previously worked on a number of games, including Prey, Gears of War and Telltale's The Walking Dead.

The 2016 Star Wars movie is planned to be the first of multiple stand-alone films that take place outside the franchise's normal episodic structure. The film, which will be helmed by Godzilla director Gareth Edwards, is slated for a Dec. 16, 2016 theatrical release. Whitta reportedly turned in a first draft for the film, the details of which have not been made public.

This isn't the first writer switch for Disney and Lucasfilm's new Star Wars movies. Star Wars Episode VII was originally being written by Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, Little Miss Sunshine) before director J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over screenwriting duties.

Disney and Lucasfilm have not named a replacement for Whitta.