Who should be the Director for Star Wars Episode 7?

[Kegg]

JD wrote:

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I went with Brad Bird, John Carter was very Star Warsy

That's Andrew Stanton.

Who I can't imagine is the guy Disney is offering any plum assignments to right now.

Brad Bird would be good though... I guess I just have reservations about crossing over from animation. Bird has done some amazing movies, but his really good ones were animated - Ghost Protocol was quite good but not exactly The Incredibles. But then maybe with Star Wars and without Cruise he'd have more creative control and take stuff in a more interesting direction so who knows.

[T'Baio]

Kegg wrote:

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The Stephen King adaption guy? He done anything that'd really fit the Star Wars sci-fi action mould at all, that also was good?

I gave several reasons above on why I think he'd be a perfect fit. Someone doesn't have to have had experience making a similar movie to possibly be good at it.

But on that note, I also realized one possibility that I'm surprised isn't one fandom is jumping on, as I would expect it to, but who I think are actually really well suited to it...

...are The Wachowski's.

[theenglish]

T'Baio wrote:

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First of all, I feel really bad for Lucas...everyone clamouring for who the next director will be and often backhanding Lucas in the process. For all the love and interest the saga is getting right now, people sure are shitting on the guy who created it.

Secondly, sometimes I wonder how people pick dream directors. That second link in the OP suggests Ridley Scott because he "understands how vast and terrifying space actually is." Does that sound like a Star Wars movie to anyone? Because it sure doesn't sound like one to me. I mean, David Fincher is my favourite director, but what has he done that would suggest he's a good fit for a Star Wars movie? Other than actually working on Jedi, that is.

Of all the directors, I'd say Frank Darabont is the perfect fit. He's worked in the Lucasfilm world. He's a fan of period cinema and is great at mimicking certain styles in a fresh and personal way. He writes and handles great characters deftly and with a sense of humour. He's not afraid to back away from "cool," and uses it when it's necessary and boldly. Finally, he has a sense of adventure and loves to explore classic genre tropes.

I agree, with a caveat. Lucas has earned a lot of wrath from Star Wars fans over the last decade. He was too much in control of the franchise considering the fact that he forgot what it was about the original trilogy that made it special.

I actually think that selling the franchise is the right way to go, and maybe the next director will actually make a film that respects the series more than the previous prequels ever did.

Sidebar: Mark Hamill is the same age now as Alec Guinness was when Ep. IV was filmed.

[Xaios]

My votes went to Duncan Jones, Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron. Duncan Jones seems has a real knack for highlighting the humanity of his characters, Guillermo Del Toro's imagination makes my head spin and Alfonso Cuaron knows how to direct some truly gripping action scenes.

[DigificWriter]

My top 5 choices:
1. Lawrence Kasden & Steven Spielberg (TIE)
2. Joss Whedon
3. Peter Jackson
4. James Cameron
5. Roland Emmerich

Honorable mentions:
Ridley Scott
Alfonso Cuaron
David Yates
J.J. Abrams

[Locutus of Bored]

Brad Bird. With The Iron Giant, he showed that he understands the 50's scifi and serials that inspired Star Wars in the first place. With The Incredibles and Ratatouille he showed that he can work effectively with the CGI characters and other elements that are so common in Star Wars films, and can make a great family-friendly yet exciting action film with the former. With Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, he showed that he can competently make a compelling and exciting live-action film with some great high tension drama and action sequences. He's also an excellent screenwriter, so he can oversee the final script and make sure everything works well. He hasn't done a lot of films, but what he has done have been very good.

[JD]

Kegg wrote:

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That's Andrew Stanton.

Who I can't imagine is the guy Disney is offering any plum assignments to right now.

Brad Bird would be good though... I guess I just have reservations about crossing over from animation. Bird has done some amazing movies, but his really good ones were animated - Ghost Protocol was quite good but not exactly The Incredibles. But then maybe with Star Wars and without Cruise he'd have more creative control and take stuff in a more interesting direction so who knows.

Oops my bad, I always get them confused. But he's still done some good stuff, so I wouldn't be totally against it.
As for Stanton, I stand by that vote, even though I got the names confused. I don't care how badly John Carter did at the box office, I still really enjoyed it. I remember several people calling it a better Star Wars movie than the prequels after it came out.

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Matthew Vaughan is a good choice, I think. He can do style but also adhere to a tone. I look at the difference between X-Men First Class and Kick-Ass as good evidence of genre versatility. In fact I love the serious tone of FC.

[The Squire of Gothos]

Kegg wrote:

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Duncan Jones is my top pick followed by Neil Blomkamp. Young, hungry directors who have both proven they can bring the goods to a sci-fi action movie. Also the model work in Moon I mean come on lost art that movie was gorgoeus

Jones then to tame the CGI excesses of the prequel trilogy?

[Starkers]

Allyn Gibson wrote:

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I would also be interested in Euros Lyn.

Nice

[Garak]

Other: Joe Kosinski.

Out of the list though I'd go with Matthew Vaughn.

[ElimParra]

T'Baio wrote:

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Secondly, sometimes I wonder how people pick dream directors. That second link in the OP suggests Ridley Scott because he "understands how vast and terrifying space actually is." Does that sound like a Star Wars movie to anyone? Because it sure doesn't sound like one to me. I mean, David Fincher is my favourite director, but what has he done that would suggest he's a good fit for a Star Wars movie? Other than actually working on Jedi, that is.

I went with what had been suggested on those sites I mentioned. I thought about Joss Whedon and Christopher Nolan afterwards, even if was unlikely due to Avengers 2 and something I saw about Christopher Nolan in the first article.

[Mach5]

BoxWhatBox wrote:

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No one does an epic better then Peter Jackson.

Except perhaps Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg or Jim Cameron. Or Zack Snyder. Or Zhang Yimou.

On topic, I say give one of these movies to Frank Marshall. The other two should go to JJ and Joss.

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Anyone but Joss Whedon.

Star Wars can be witty and funny, but only within the parameters of its own universe and only as much as the characters allow.

Whedon would make every character so damn witty. Not to mention a list of other problems with his style that conflict with Star Wars.

[Locutus of Bored]

Flying Spaghetti Monster wrote:

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Anyone but Joss Whedon.

Star Wars can be witty and funny, but only within the parameters of its own universe and only as much as the characters allow.

Whedon would make every character so damn witty. Not to mention a list of other problems with his style that conflict with Star Wars.

Yes, it would be horribly conflicting if Star Wars was stuck with a director of a critically acclaimed $1.5 billion dollar grossing ensemble scifi adventure film who is a lifelong fan of the franchise and has previous experience making a show that was basically Tales of the Millennium Falcon.

The characters in Star Wars were cracking wise to each other all the time. There's nothing conflicting in tone between Whedon's dialogue and the OT, and he's perfectly capable of writing serious dialogue when it's called for.