It seems that as each day passes, we lose more and more directing candidates for STAR WARS: EPISODE VII. While everyone who has denied their involvement or desire to direct so far have not been shockers, these latest two are the first ones to make me a little hesitant about the next movie.
Fan favorite choice, Brad Bird, already had a full slate of projects to work on, including the very secret 1952 which will potentially star George Clooney. But, fans kept hope alive that Bird may delay that project for a crack at the Skywalker mythos.
When asked directly via his Twitter page, Bird replied “Thanks. But the science fiction film I AM doing is gonna be cool.” He followed that by also tweeting “That said, Michael Arndt is a fantastic writer and [Lucasfilm honcho] Kathy Kennedy is a brilliant producer. I will be first in line to see the new Star Wars,”
Both of Bird’s next projects, 1952 and the disaster epic 1906, sound amazing. While he would have been great for STAR WARS, I would like to see him continue on original projects and maybe some day make THE INCREDIBLES 2.
The other candidate who can be crossed off the list is SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED director Colin Trevorrow. Trevorrow was said to have met with George Lucas about the job, but that may have evaporated when Disney entered the equation.
Trevorrow also took to Twitter to clarify his involvement with “a particular franchise” and said “To clarify, there is another film we all love that I’m currently trying not to mess up. Odds I will direct Episode VII: 3720 to 1.” Hmm, I wonder what that other movie is?
The loss of these candidates puts us back at square one with the rumors. While I would love to see a new voice jump in to direct STAR WARS: EPISODE VII, Disney is likely going to go with an established director. There is too much at stake with this first film to mess with a filmmaker who is unproven. With that in mind, let the rumor mill begin churning again with names that have not been eliminated yet.