Let’s Talk Possible ‘Episode VII’ Directors

So, as we reported a couple days ago, it seems every established director in Hollywood is running as fast as they can from Disney’s Star Wars sequels. Spielberg, Tarantino, Abrams and Zack Snyder have all emphatically said no and Brad Bird’s 1952 may actually be a real movie after all. Ben Afleck is also out, but was anybody ever speculating that he was in? So, who’s left? Is it time to get Señor Spielbergo on the horn?

Not quite. According to Frank Marshall (husband of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy) they’ve narrowed it down to two candidates, and Frank even claims to know which one they’re probably going to pick. Who could these two candidates be? There actually are a small handful of directors who have said they’d be willing to take Episode VII on…

Guillermo Del Toro would be willing to do it, but mostly he’s being all gosh-shucks self-deprecating about it…

“If this becomes ever a reality, and there’s an approach to do it, I would then think about it, but it’s like thinking if I want to date a supermodel. I don’t think about these things.”

Jon Favreau has been more enthusiastic than almost anybody about the prospect of a new Star Wars, but hasn’t said anything about directing it…

“I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see.”

Meanwhile Colin Trevorrow seems totally into doing Star Wars…

“I certainly can’t comment on what my involvement may ever be, I can definitely say that I would absolutely love to direct a “Star Wars” film at some point in my life. That would be incredible, I’m not daunted by it.”

…but the guy’s only directed a single movie — the low-key, low-budget sci-fi comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.

Don’t get too excited for a freaky Del Toro or mumblecore Star Wars movie just yet though — there’s a good chance Disney and Lucasfilm will just choose somebody they already know. Somebody safe and predictable. Somebody like Joe Johnston. Johnston actually got his start as an effects guy on the original Star Wars trilogy and has since gone on to a successful career doing Spielberg/Lucas-lite movies like Jumanji, Jurassic Park III and Captain America. Johnston doesn’t seem to have anything on his slate (the next Captain America movie is being directed by somebody else) and didn’t turn down the possibility when asked…

“A lot would depend on what it is. I am very glad to see Lucasfilm cranking up to get productive again, regardless of who ends up doing it.”

So there you go, quite a range of possibilities, but the good news is they’re all competent directors. No Michael Bays, Brett Ratners or well, late-career George Lucases on the list. At the very least, this movie is going to look nice.

via First Showing, Bleeding Cool & Movieline