The speculation over who might direct Star Wars Episode VII is downright ridiculous. It’s at the point where people are analyzing every single quote from actors and directors, word by word, to try and figure out who Kathleen Kennedy and Disney want to make the movie. But let’s face it: it’s fun, and a fantastic topic for discussion because we never thought anyone but George Lucas would make a Star Wars film ever again.
The only name that’s been discussed seriously over the past few weeks is Matthew Vaughn, while most directors have come out and flat out denied any involvement. A new report on Deadline, though, confirms rumors we’ve culled from Twitter that Jon Favreau is, indeed, attempting to get the gig. It also adds a sort-of-surprising new name into the mix: David Fincher. He’s reportedly “game for one of these news films” and has a strong relationship with LucasFilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, who produced The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
There’s more below, including a video of Fincher’s talking about working at Industrial Light & Magic.
A big hat-tip to The Playlist for picking up the following quote in a seeming un-Star Wars related article on Deadline:
As much as I’ve heard the Vaughn rumor, I’ve also heard Jon Favreau is panting after this job, and even that David Fincher, who apparently worked for Lucas’s ILM in a menial job as a teen, might be game for one of these new films. Unfortunately, we are getting nothing out of Lucas Land on what they call speculation. I broke a story recently that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg will write future Star Wars installments, most likely the second and third installments of the new trilogy, I’d heard. Lucas, through Disney, denied every speck of this, but I ran it anyway. They won’t comment or clarify these things because they want to announce it themselves on their own Twitter or website or whatever they’ve got.
Favreau recently had the movie he was working on, Jersey Boys, go away and Fincher has yet to commit to a new film – though it seems like once likely 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea was slipping away. That film, too, was supposed to be with Disney, LucasFilm’s new owner, so maybe that’s where discussions started. It’s also interesting that one of Fincher’s earliest jobs was as an “assistant cameraman” for ILM working on Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He also worked on Temple of Doom and many of his films have had their effects done at ILM.
Fincher is well-known for being a demanding, meticulous force on set, which might not blend with the corporate interests a new Star Wars movie brings. That said, I don’t see this actually happening, but I do find it cool that he’s interested. Do you think Fincher would actually direct a Star Wars film? What would that be like?
