Who should be the Director for Star Wars Episode 7?

[PsychoPere]

suarezguy wrote:

---

BTW, interesting they're not even waiting until the 3D rereleases are over (unless they abandoned them?).

Those will be distributed by 20th Century Fox. Disney is probably banking on people wanting to see new Star Wars instead of yet another re-release of the old films.

[Nerys Myk]

PsychoPere wrote:

---

Those will be distributed by 20th Century Fox. Disney is probably banking on people wanting to see new Star Wars instead of yet another re-release of the old films.

Studion shifts bother me. A Star Wars film with out the 20th Century Fox fanfare is weird.

[sidious618]

T'Baio wrote:

---

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 pretty much all of this. Darabont would be a good choice and he was in discussions with Lucas in the past so Lucas clearly trusts him. He'd be a good pick.

[junxon]

Anton Corbijn

[Saul]

Peter Jackson.

[Set Harth]

DarthPipes wrote:

---

-I doubt Christopher Nolan would even be interested and he'd be obsessed with making a "realisitc" Star Wars.

Yes, because everything that happened in TDKR was so realistic.

[FalTorPan]

Zombie Cheerleader wrote:

---

Studion shifts bother me. A Star Wars film with out the 20th Century Fox fanfare is weird.

Maybe Disney will buy a license to use the Fox fanfare music... but I doubt it.

[RoJoHen]

Set Harth wrote:

---

Yes, because everything that happened in TDKR was so realistic.

And directors only ever make one type of movie.

[EnsignRicky]

Joe Johnston

[Warp Coil]

Joss Whedon - let him play with the Marvel universe and his own original projects; I don't want him getting sidetracked and pulled into SW
JJ Abrams - I want him available to focus on Trek XIII
Peter Jackson - his Hobbit trilogy will keep him pretty occupied; there's no way he'd be able to take the reigns on Episode 7 in time for the proposed 2015 release date; otherwise I would think that he would make for a great choice
Christopher Nolan - love this guy, but I'd rather see him do some more original stuff than get sucked into rejuvenating another big franchise
Ridley Scott - meh; was ultimately disappointed with "Prometheus"; I think his career is winding down
David Yates - while I really enjoyed his four HP films, I haven't seen anything else by him. I am not sure if he'd be a top contender.
Brad Bird - Hmm.... perhaps....
Frank Darabont - He hasn't directed anything on this scale before; it doesn't mean he couldn't pull it off, but I am not sure I would choose him, either
Matthew Vaughn - would certainly be willing to see what he could offer
Bryan Singer - did a great job with his two "X-Men" installments but fumbled with "Superman Returns"; would be willing to give him another shot

[Venardhi]

Darabont, Whedon or Bird

[The Borgified Corpse]

Turtletrekker wrote:

---

Abrams made a great Star Wars movie in 2009.

Agreed. Throughout Star Trek (2009), I kept getting the feeling that Abrams really wished that he was doing a Star Wars movie instead. I wouldn't be expecially broken up if he ditched Star Trek XIII for Star Wars: Episode VII.

T'Baio wrote:

---

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.

That's nothing new. People have been ragging on Lucas pretty mercilessly ever since The Phantom Menace 13 years ago. Personally, I think it's a bit unfair. While he never quite could get a handle on the dialogue for the films, I think his sense of the epic and his boundless visual imagination counted for a lot. Even when the results are less than exceptional, I think he has to be credited for being a man of singular vision and singular confidence in his own sense of narrative. I can't stand THX-1138 but I have the utmost respect for it as an experimental art film. And while the Star Wars prequels were often stiff and convoluted, I find Lucas' sense of joy at playing around in his own sandbox absolutely contagious.

So, yeah, I think some people are being unfair. At the same time, the man just made $4 billion. So, I won't feel too sorry for him.

JD wrote:

---

David Yates, because people keep saying it's supposed to be a family franchise, and Harry Potter pretty much is IMO the gold standard in family fantasy franchises.
Guillermo Del Toro, because the I love the Helloboy movies, and I would love to see the people who did their creatures try their hands at SW.

I dunno. The Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of the Harry Potter movies but I thought the other 3 that Yates did were in the bottom half of franchise quality. The Order of the Phoenix just feels like it's treading water for the entire film. The Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 & 2 are absolutely inscrutable for people who haven't read the books.

As for Del Toro, I love Blade II. Hellboy is decent. But he seemed to completely lose track of the plot in Hellboy II. He seemed more preoccupied with cramming the movie full of every weird creature that he couldn't fit into Pan's Labyrinth rather than telling a compelling story.

Mooch wrote:

---

Brad Bird sounds good. Andrew Stanton would be good too. I bet Martin Campbell or Danny Boyle would do interesting jobs as well.

I love Brad Bird. He's my top choice without hesitation. I loved Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It has some of the most engaging, most dynamic, most inventive action scenes I've ever seen. I have no doubt that he could make the Star Wars universe sing with the same level of rip-roaring fun that Lucas did!

I'm sure Andrew Stanton could handle the visual part. But the acting & casting in John Carter were very dire. Maybe once Episode VII gets the ball rolling, we can revisit the idea of Stanton directing Episode VIII.

Martin Campbell is a very mixed bag. On the one hand, Goldeneye & Casino Royale are amongst the top echelon of James Bond movies. The Mask of Zorro was a lot of fun as well. But Green Lantern was terrible and Campbell's direction seemed painfully bored the entire time. If he really wanted to do it, I'd give him a shot. But if it's something he needs to be talked into, well... I've got a bad feeling about this.

Temis the Friendly Ghost wrote:

---

Mal Reynolds was basically just Han Solo resurrected.

And if Chewbacca could talk, I suspect he'd sound a lot like a cross between Zoe & Jayne, with a little bit of Wash thrown in during his more cowardly moments.

My main concern with Joss Whedon directing anything is my constant fear that he'll randomly, cruelly kill people off for no good reason. (At least, in the Marvel movies, we're relatively safe from that. Everyone has to survive because they've all got their own solo movies to do later.)

And really, Star Wars is big enough & good enough that it doesn't really need Whedon. I'd rather see him create more of his own projects.

PsychoPere wrote:

---

I have no opinion on her, as I'm unfamiliar with most of her television directing work. The fact that she's only directed television, however, is an automatic disqualification based on scale alone.

I dunno. Everyone has to start somewhere. I don't think David Yates had done much beyond TV prior to Harry Potter. Ridley Scott was mostly known as a commercial director prior to Alien, as was David Fincher prior to Alien 3. James Cameron got his start directing the crappy Jaws rip-off Piranha II: The Spawning for Roger Corman.

stj wrote:

---

Also, the really really important question is, who does the score? John Williams is a great composer but the series is getting older. Age has made him less reliably great, I fear, as well. I'm thinking Brian Tyler, or Danny Elfman if he's explicitly instructed to avoid Burtonism. But maybe Dave Arnold?

Oh, definately David Arnold! My best friend is a huge Star Wars fan. The first time I showed him Stargate, he asked me, "Is that John Williams?"

FalTorPan wrote:

---

Maybe Disney will buy a license to use the Fox fanfare music... but I doubt it.

I was wondering if 20th Century Fox would still have some kind of distribution status for the films, kinda like how The Avengers still started with the Paramount logo, not the Disney logo.

[JarodRussell]

BRETT RATNER

[Set Harth]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

---

My main concern with Joss Whedon directing anything is my constant fear that he'll randomly, cruelly kill people off for no good reason. (At least, in the Marvel movies, we're relatively safe from that.

Or so we thought.

[the G-man]

theenglish wrote:

---

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

Wow. That is one of the most depressing things I've ever read.