OK. So which movie director SHOULD do Episode VII?

OK, so when I went off on Disney acquiring LucasFilm yesterday I had a lot of people point out to me that at least Disney will sell us stuff that we tell them that we actually want to buy – which Lucas always had a problem with. And I admit, that is an argument. So then I see this:


…Admittedly, I’d watch that; but it occurred to me that Disney can get the best. The absolute best. And, again, they want your money and they know that you’re probably pissed at George Lucas. So. Blue sky this one, folks: if you could have any director for the next Star Wars film, who would it be? – With the caveat that it be actually possible. I’ll stretch a point and not insist on ‘plausible;’ but the director has to be at least alive, working, and available for the movie*.

Have fun!

Moe Lane

PS: HAN. SHOT. FIRST.

*That last one is obviously negotiable. “Hey, you want to direct the new Star Wa…” :interrupting: “I WILL SIGN MY FIRSTBORN CHILD UNTO YOU FOR THE CHANCE TO MAKE THIS MOVIE.”

47 thoughts on “OK. So which movie director SHOULD do Episode VII?”

  1. There’s this guy who made a beloved Science Fiction series that was cancelled after 10 episodes that has a huge following who works for a subsidiary of Disney. I might get him to do it.

    After all, “Joss Whedon is my master now”

  2. I still pin my hopes on Disney abandoning Avatard… I *like* the Animal Kingdom park, and don’t want to put on my “never step foot there again” list.

  3. Whedon lives in the Hollywood bubble. He probably hasn’t talked to a conservative on purpose in the last 10 years. You start to believe the strawmen you and others created. All conservatives must therefore be racist anarchists. And, since they are all rednecks from 1850 Mississippi, there probably isn’t a movie theater within a 12 hour horse ride of their house. So, who cares if you insult them?
    –
    I want to see a Guy Richie Star Wars starring Jason Statham. . .

  4. How about who shouldn’t be allowed to direct a Star Wars sequel?

    I’ll start.

    Ang Lee
    Peter Jackson
    Quentin Tarantino
    Oliver Stone
    James Cameron
    Kevin Smith
    Steven Spielberg
    Michael Bay
    JJ Abrams

    As for who should, I’d put these at the top of my list:

    David Fincher
    Brad Bird
    Brad Bird
    Andrew Stanton
    Brad Bird
    Joss Whedon

    I’m on the fence about

    Guillermo del Toro
    Mel Gibson, if he can get off the crazy sauce
    Katherine Bigelow

  5. Also, side note:
    Disney should probably get John Williams to frame out 6-7 more soundtracks in the next couple of years. No telling how long he’ll be with us.

  7. I’m beating the Christopher Nolan drum. With The Dark Knight trilogy all wrapped up, he could use another epic, beloved franchise to reboot and crank up to 11. 🙂

  9. Guillermo del Toro would make an …. interesting Star Wars film, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want it to be canon. (Paul Verhoeven would, too, and I’m even more certain I wouldn’t want it in continuity. But I might like to know more.)

    Gore Verbinski, perhaps.

    The biggest problem with the question is that I can’t think of very many directors I would trust to direct such a film without subverting it to advance some ideological or aesthetic agenda of theirs. Whedon’s nearly it, though Mr. Stewart’s strong suggestion of Brad Bird seems like a good choice, too (it might seem better if I’d seen MI: Ghost Protocol).

    (Now, if Kershner were still kicking …)

  10. Christopher Nolan. Assuming “Man of Steel” is as good as Dark Knight has been. Is that even possible? Anyway, yeah. Christopher Nolan.

  12. Doug – you think too small in terms of weirdness. How about the Coen brothers? Or the Wachowski brothers? Or the Farrelly brothers?

    On a more serious note, I bet Jon Favreau would turn in a good one.

  14. Second the Brad Bird suggestion. Ghost Protocol had no right to be as good as it was and The Incredibles was a thing of genius.

    Oddball pick… Clint Eastwood? I don’t think he’s done sci-fi fantasy before but it would be interesting…

  15. And the obligatory even odder oddball pick, David Lynch.

    Never happen and never would, but the horror of it… the horror…

  17. Whedon’s election riff is probably the least creative thing I’ve seen him do, so I don’t understand why his fans were excited about it. It was… trite and stale. People made the same sorts of jokes about Bush.

    And I mean the first one.

  18. I’m going to agree with Clint Eastwood…it’s the unexpected, but still correct choise..

  19. Wait, how about Quentin Tarantino, but set it in the seedly criminal past of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian….

  21. Most of the stuff I’ve liked that’s associated with Whedon is more directly attributable to Tim Minear. Him, I’d love to see on board.

    My nomination is Jon Favreau. We’re looking for a director who can tell an over-the-top story without getting “cute”. He did a good job of doing exactly that in Iron Man. (And that franchise is most likely reaching its end, leaving him free.)

  23. Actually I would not mind JJ Abrams, thought he did well on Star Trek except for the lens flare. Also it would be fun to watch the fanboys on both side explode with the same director in charge of both franchises

  25. Luke:
    Favreau isn’t directing Iron Man 3.

    Also, the Wachowskis are right out, since they never got around to making any sequels to The Matrix. I mean, what was the deal with that?

    And I would totally go see “Wes Anderson’s Jedi Academy“.

  27. Possibilities I would like (most of them probably repeats):

    *Brad Bird
    *Clint Eastwood
    *Abrams (but he would probably do better with Mass Effect. They both share an obsession with lens flare and loud noises)
    * Whedon
    * The dude who done made “Taken”… looking it up… Pierre Morel.
    * The dude who done made “Moon”… Duncan Jones
    * Uwe Boll, on a “Houston’s footballs team should have been called the Colt ’45’s” basis (The Houston ’45’s have the worst record of a professional basesball team; mayhaps they are just playing the wrong sport. Similarly, Boll makes terrible video game adaptation movies; mayhaps he is playing in the wrong genre)
    * David Cronenberg?
    * David Lynch?
    * And, finally, in a weird ouroboros loop, Mark Hamill in a directorial debut. He’s done doing voice work for the Joker and the Hobgoblin; why should he not return to the franchise that let him live those fantasies?

  28. He’s not directing it, but as an executive producer, he most likely has more control than he did as director. (He was also an executive producer of “The Avengers”. So he’s got the Disney connections.)

  29. Doug – He’s the reason that I didn’t even give Revolution a shot at hooking me. Because eff him for LOST.

  30. Darin:
    My wife watched season 1 & 2 of LOST, then *ahem* lost interest. I stuck with it, certain that it was going somewhere. I pleaded with her to watch the finale in realtime with me so that I could avoid spoilers at work the next day.

    As it faded to black, she turned to me and laughed in my face. If I recall correctly, she said “You wasted four years of your life on that?”

    And she was right.

    LEM:
    Abrams directing a Mass Effect movie? I’d watch that.

  31. Even though Doug tried to put the kibosh on Peter Jackson, I’m hoping that name stays on the short list somewhere.

    I’m a bit leery of what Man of Steel will be like, but I’ve loved every Christopher Nolan movie I’ve ever seen, so I wouldn’t mind him getting the gig.

    I want to see Joss Whedon do something else first to prove he hasn’t gone around the bend… I don’t want him using it to shove his politics down my throat.

    I love Brad Bird’s work, but he’s only done one live-action movie so far, and I haven’t seen that one, so… I dunno.

    I’d be interested to see what David Twohy could do with it, but I doubt his name is big enough to be on anyone’s list.

  32. Crazy Bald Guy: “Cabin in the Woods” was pretty entertaining in the “Scream”- kinda funny horror genre. And as a bonus, used a couple of familiar faces from Whedon’s television days.

  36. Jbird, I mean I want to see Whedon do something post-election to make sure it hasn’t turned him into a raging asshole determined to put lefty talking points into everything he does from now on.

  39. jeffstag beat me to the punch with Tarantino…I’ve always thought that the next SW film should be about the revolt of machine intelligence…consider that C3PO is humiliated in some way in every single picture, droids are available for comic abuse always, and even Obi-wan makes derogatory comments about droids…I’d title the picture, “Up Against the Wall, MO2F07”..

  40. Well, since it Can’t happen, I will say the late Sergio Leone. “Once Upon a Time in Space” anyone?

  42. Whedon’s mom was a left-wing activist and he’s third generation Hollywood. Really, what can you expect?

    He’s also a guy who hires talent regardless of their political leanings (Adam Baldwin? Sarah Michelle Gellar?) And if you look at what he WRITES, it’s very libertarian. I’m not just talking Firefly, though really that’s all I need to make my point.

    I’ve always had a suspicion that former Buffy collaborator and then-Fox President (and Left Wing Activist) Gail Berman sandbagged Firefly because it was so clearly right-of-center. A small business owner avoiding government regulation and unashamedly wielding guns? A Christian preacher presented in a positive light? A menacing, all-encompassing federal government as the main nemesis? Can’t have all that on the air.

    Remember the portrayal of Captain America in the Avengers? “Right now, maybe we need a little old fashioned.” “I only believe in one G-d, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” Seriously, how many feature films are going show such a genuine, matter-of-fact defense of monotheism and traditional American values? How the hell did it get past the censors?

    Look, Joss will be reflexively Leftie, because that’s what he’s marinaded in all his life. But his stories, on Buffy and Firefly and the Avengers and elsewhere, show that this guy’s voting and his core principles are 180 degrees apart. Forget that he hates us, forget that he probably doesn’t know the first thing about budget and economic policy. His stories inspire a generation of libertarians and conservatives, and that’s plenty for me.

    Plus, his scripts kick ass. Remember back when everything wasn’t about politics?

  43. My vote is for Rian Johnson. See Looper and Brick.

    And I guess the big question is do they mine Extended Universe or try something “new”?

  46. Who could increase the suckage such that even the fanboys start to quit?

    That should be the absolute floor.

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