Who Might Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’?

After official announcement that ‘Toy Story 3’ screenwriter Michael Arndt would pen the new Star Wars film, there’s still no word as to who is going to direct the movie. Many names have popped up, and all of them have explicitly denied the possibility — many of them saying that they would rather see the movie in theaters than direct it in person. So, whose names have popped up?

J.J. Abrams: If Abrams were to direct the movie, we should all expect to see lots of lens flares, something that might be expected from a movie about lightsabers and lasers. Abrams has previously directed ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Super 8’, so his science-fiction knowledge is far from rookie status. However, Abrams has denied the chance of him directing ‘Star Wars’, saying he’d prefer to see it in theaters.

Quentin Tarantino: Where this idea came from, we don’t know. Tarantino is famous for his bloody crime cult films, so it’s a fat chance that he’d be able to steer away from that to direct something Star Wars fans might be happy with. I can imagine it now: Lightsaber battles with arms being cut off left and right, blood spewing from the remaining stumps. Not something you’d like to see either? We didn’t think so.

Steven Spielberg: An infamous director, no doubt. He’s put out films like ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ — films that regularly meet critical acclaim. Out of anyone, Spielberg would be one of the best candidates for direction of the next entry, but he too has denied the possibility, saying that it just isn’t his genre.

Joss Whedon: Naturally, when you direct a film like ‘The Avengers’, it’s hard for your name not to come up in talks to direct another sure-to-be massive sci-fi hit. While Whedon has not explicitly spoken on the matter, it’s even harder to believe that he’d have time to direct the next entry. Already, Whedon has an ABC television show set in his Marvel Universe, plans for ‘The Avengers’ sequel, and a job as overall creative director of the next Marvel entries and how they fit into his planned 2015 sequel. His plate is simply too full to handle the project.

Jon Favreau: Another Marvel director, and perhaps the only one who has said he would enjoy directing the soon-to-be film. While he hasn’t actually said he’s been selected to do so (no one has, it’s all a bunch of speculation at this point), he has expressed interest, saying: “The idea of another trilogy that further shrouds the Force in mystery as its secrets are lost to time – that’s extremely compelling. I want so bad for it to be good. Can you imagine?”

When the director might be announced, we don’t know. Currently, ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ is slated for a 2015 release, which means things better start moving. 2015 is set to be a big year for movies, with the sequel to ‘The Avengers’ coming out (owned by Disney, who was the company that recently bought Lucasfilm and the rights to Star Wars for some odd four-billion dollars), a Justice League movie coming out, and the final installment in The Hunger Games franchise being released as well. However, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford have all expressed interest in reprising their roles as Luke, Leia, and Han in the upcoming film — and we’re all interested to see where that idea may go.

Tags: disney, george lucas, j.j. abrams, jon favreau, joss whedon, quentin tarantino, star wars, star wars episode 7, steven spielberg