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He's busy now working with Fox on the Fantastic Four reboot at the moment, but very soon Josh Trank will head over to Lucasfilm for one of the planned Star Wars standalone films, joining Godzilla and Monsters' Gareth Edwards in the ranks of impressive young directors heading to a galaxy far, far away. "We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family," says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a press release. "He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars , and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.” "The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood," Trank himself adds. "The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time." Details are thin on the ground, but we do know that at least three spin-offs are plan

Tim Blake Nelson is in final negotiations to join the cast of 20th Century Fox’s reboot of The Fantastic Four . Josh Trank is directing the movie, which once again focuses on the Marvel Comics quartet of scientist-adventurers Reed Richards ( Miles Teller ), aka Mr. Fantastic; his best friend Ben Grimm ( Jamie Bell ), aka The Thing; his girlfriend Sue Storm ( Kate Mara ), aka The Invisible Woman; and her brother, Johnny ( Michael B. Jordan ), aka The Human Torch. Toby Kebbell is playing the villain, Doctor Doom. Nelson will play Harvey Elder, an eccentric and socially awkward scientist. In comics lore, Elder is actually the Mole Man , shunned by humanity and leader of a subterranean group of monsters known as the Moloids. Sources say the Mole Man will not appear in this movie but Elder’s appearance does set up the character to be the villain in future installments of the franchise. Fox did not comment on the plans. Simon Kinberg wrote the script and is producing with Hu

After a final rewrite to the script and a long casting process, Fox looks to have assembled the team for its “ Fantastic Four ” reboot. Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell will join Michael B. Jordan in the latest installment in the comicbook franchise. Mara recently closed a deal to play play Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman . While no offer is out yet, Bell is expected to be tapped to play Ben Grimm/The Thing . Teller has an offer to play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic , but deal points are a little further away from being completed. Jordan has been attached for some time to play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch . Teller and Mara have been on Fox’s radar since they were expected to test in November — events that were pushed when Simon Kinberg came on for the last polish on the script. Bell came into the mix after Fox resumed screen tests. Based on the comic “ The Ultimate Fantastic Four ,” the contemporary update will focus on the characters as young men and women. Josh Tra

Warner Bros has set Josh Trank to develop to direct The Red Star , an adaptation of a graphic novel that will be scripted by Jason Rothenberg. Neal Moritz will produce through his Original Film shingle. Trank made his feature directing debut on Chronicle and after the $12 million film grossed $116 million and was that rare low budget, no star genre film to receive strong reviews, Trank has been up for much bigger jobs. Among those conversations is the Fantastic Four reboot at Fox and the Spider-Man spinoff Venom at Sony Pictures. But The Red Star is the first one that has led to a deal for a film that has a writer working on the project. The Soviet-themed sci-fi fantasy comic book series was picked up by Warner Bros after Universal let it go. Created by Christian Gossett, the comic is set in an alternate USSR where futuristic technology co-mingles with magical elements. The protagonist is a Red Fleet soldier who goes up against an ex-leader who rules with an iron fist. Rothenbe

"Chronicles" Of John And Max Landis Twentieth Century Fox is in negotiations to pick up " Chronicle ," a spec script from the son of director John Landis , Max Landis , while first-time director Josh Trank is attached to helm the super-power project. According to the studio, the story focuses on the lives of three Portland teens that become exposed to a mysterious substance in the woods, and, as a result, begin to develop incredible powers. They work together to hone their skills for fun, until personal and family problems begin to turn them against one another. " Chronicle" is being eyed to be told in hand-held, documentary-style that has been slowly gaining popularity with movies such as " Cloverfield " and " Paranormal Activity ."  While he directed a web series titled " Killpoint " in 2007 and was the editor on " Big Fan ," Robert Siegel's indie starring Patton Oswalt, Trank may have that style of f