J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau & More Weigh In On Who Should Direct ‘Star Wars Episode VII’
By eelyajekiM
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Monday, November 12th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Now that we know that Michael Arndt has written a treatment for the new Star Wars trilogy, fans everywhere are talking about who they would like to direct Star Wars: Episode VII. Some of the names that have come up are J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau, Steven Spielberg, Brad Bird, and Colin Trevorrow. Even Quentin Tarantino‘s name has been thrown into the mix. Now, a couple of them have actually added their input about the opportunity and some have taken themselves out of the running. Find out who below.
Spielberg has confirmed that he will not be directing Episode VII. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Spielberg said this: “No! No! It’s not my genre. It’s my best friend George [Lucas]”˜s genre.”
Tarantino also confirmed that he wouldn’t be in the running to direct the film and offered a reason that only a person like himself could: “I could so care less. No, sorry. Especially if Disney’s going to do it. I’m not interested in the Simon West version of ‘Star Wars.'”
It’s not a huge surprise that Tarantino would give that kind of a statement. Not sure why there is bad blood between himself of Mr. West or why he feels that Disney would be getting in the way, but if he’s not going to do it, then he’s not going to do it.
As for the remaining aforementioned names, all of them talked about the possibility of taking on the daunting task of directing Episode VII. With his name being on the top of the list of top directors who should direct Episode VII, Abrams addressed the internet rumors to the Hollywood Life and had this to say about possibly directing the film:
“Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time,” J.J. gushed. He added, “I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!”
So it’s probably safe to say that we won’t be seeing Abrams direct any of the new Star Wars films any time soon. But just imagine, a director helming two historic and major sci-fi franchises; still that would be pretty awesome if it did happen.
Favreau also talked to Hollywood Life and had this to say about possibly directing the film:
“I think both J.J. and I come from a generation of people who formed our whole creative persona around what we experienced as kids from watching those films, and I have had the good fortune of working with George [Lucas] and around George, and whether it is doing a voice on Clone Wars, or being at the Skywalker Ranch mixing Iron Man – so I have been very happy and lucky to just experience the culture that Lucas has created, both in my own life growing up as a kid and professional – whether it was interviewing him at film festivals on stage, he is just a really wonderful, talented gifted guy who has changed the business so much, so I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see.”
So Faverau seems interested but never actually says that he wants the job. So we’ll have to wait and see if his name gets thrown around more in the months leading up to the confirmation.
While making the press rounds for the DVD release of Safety Not Guaranteed, Trevorrow had this to say about the rumors about him possibly directing the film:
“I have very little to say about it. [stammering] Certainly, no specifics about whats going on behind the scenes in the selection of that person [a director]. I think that I can speak as a Star Wars fan, which is important to me. Whoever does do this movie, I think, just needs to have a fundamental understanding of why its important to us. We come from a generation who grew up with this as children, to us its almost a belief system. Its harder for people who are older or who were already teenagers when the movie came out to understand how deeply it is our mythology. And there are a bunch of incredible directors who are up for this job”¦ I think whoever gets it will have that fundamental understanding of why Star Wars matters so much to a billion people. Its just incredible. So that’s all I can say about that. I’m equally excited about it. “¦ that’s all you’re gonna get!”
Trevorrow seems to know what’s at stake and has a huge understanding of the mythology, as does the aforementioned directors. However, like Favreau, he neither confirms nor denies that he is in the running to direct Episode VII, but shares the same excitement if he is presented the opportunity to direct the film.
There seems to be a great mix of names being tossed into the rumor mill, a majority of them are pretty well known directors. Some hope that a smaller lesser-known director will helm Episode VII, while others hope the opposite. But whoever gets the job, I think everyone can agree that the director has to have the passion and a great understanding of the Star Wars mythology to direct Star Wars Episode VII
I am with the afore mentioned group, a lesser known talent. Simply too much baggage already attached to the property to add in the weight of a ‘known’ director seems unneeded. The original 3, esp Empire, worked by having a actor centric director. Focusing on the more fantastical elements will not leave a indelible impression on movie goers. Whoever does take the reins will have some huge shoes to fill.
Disney is loving every minute of this out of all those names put in the mix of doing epie 7 only spielberg and abrams closely make any sense. I’m pretty sure whoever it ends up being will be some one that they ( disney ) has under contract like the guy that did John Carter
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I am with the afore mentioned group, a lesser known talent. Simply too much baggage already attached to the property to add in the weight of a ‘known’ director seems unneeded. The original 3, esp Empire, worked by having a actor centric director. Focusing on the more fantastical elements will not leave a indelible impression on movie goers. Whoever does take the reins will have some huge shoes to fill.
Comment by Harkonen — November 13, 2012 @ 9:03 am
Disney is loving every minute of this out of all those names put in the mix of doing epie 7 only spielberg and abrams closely make any sense. I’m pretty sure whoever it ends up being will be some one that they ( disney ) has under contract like the guy that did John Carter
Comment by Chad Redding — November 13, 2012 @ 9:18 am