Brad Bird is “thinking about” The Incredibles 2; was he approached for Star Wars?

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Anytime Pixar announces a new project an audible sigh escapes from fans when it’s not for a sequel to THE INCREDIBLES, which is often considered the best of the studio’s work and most deserving of another entry. Director Brad Bird has been hounded about the status of continuing the adventures of Mr. Incredible and his super-powered family ever since and in a recent Q&A with THR, Bird confessed that it is certainly on his mind. The MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL director also let slip that he was approached for Star Wars and explains why he had to turn it down.

Bird on THE INCREDIBLES sequel:

I have been thinking about it. People think that I have not been, but I have. Because I love those characters and love that world. I am stroking my chin and scratching my head. I have many, many elements that I think would work really well in another [Incredibles] film, and if I can get ‘em to click all together, I would probably wanna do that. I like the idea of moving a little more quickly in films. I’m looking for ways to accelerate the pace a little bit and figure out a way to keep creative control over these movies to a level where I’m comfortable with the end result but also speed them up a bit and make more of them. I have many different films I wanna make. It’s like a big airplane hangar and I have different projects on the floor; half-assembled in my brain. I’m interested in all of them. You kind of have to move on the ones people are willing to pay for and the ones.

Bird on why he turned down STAR WARS: EPISODE VII:

I’ve known Kathy [Kennedy] for a while and I know George. And they did come to me. But the problem was, the schedule they had in mind made it impossible to do…unless I dropped Tomorrowland. And I was just really deeply into this film at that point. It’s easy to say, “Just put it on hold.” But you’re moving now; you don’t know if you’re going to be able to move later. Maybe it’s true of filmmakers like Cameron or Spielberg, but I have to act on momentum. We had reached a critical mass where it would’ve thrown the furniture around from the train stopping. I really want to see this movie. I love the Star Wars films, and I can’t wait to see what J.J. does, but it meant I’d have to shut down one dream to participate in another. I feel like [with Tomorrowland] we’re making something that’s really special and unique.

Bird is currently prepping his sci-fi Disney pic TOMORROWLAND with George Clooney and Hugh Laurie, so he’ll be embroiled in that venture for a good while, but hopefully he finds time to “assemble the plane” that could be THE INCREDIBLES 2, not to mention finding the parts that could lead to him flying a STAR WARS film in the future. Bird would soar on that franchise, in my opinion. Okay, no more aircraft metaphors.

TOMORROWLAND is set to debut on December 19, 2014.