With the huge news that George Lucas had sold Lucasfilm to Walt Disney today also came the revelation that we would be getting another Star Wars trilogy starting with Episode VII in 2015. The big question is…who should direct the next chapter in the Star Wars saga? Well, let’s take a look at five choices who may just be the right pick to get behind the camera.
Brad Bird
Let’s just establish right off the bat that Brad Bird is definitely one of the best directors out there. Second, let’s recognize that the director has the ability to come into an existing franchise and give it a breath of new life. See: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. The director doesn’t so much work on making the material recognizeable as his own but rather emphasizes on the story over everything else with everything else just seeming to fall into place. A smart choice? Definitely.
Matthew Vaughn
Vaughn is another director who has the ability to breathe life into an established franchise that may have seemed long dead without forgetting to include what we loved about the franchise in the first place. Not only that but he is a very talented director who can shift between tones with ease. Look at the work he did on X-Men: First Class with the budget and time he had. Now, imagine what he could do on a larger scale.
J.J. Abrams
I know. This one is almost too obvious. He brought back another “Star” franchise and made it loved by new and old fans alike. The thing is though, Abrams is a talented director and can even make a strong film with a not-so-great script. Now, think about what he can accomplish with a strong script. If Abrams could mix what he did with Star Trek and Super 8, he could definitely make one of the best Star Wars films of all time.
Kenneth Branagh
Kennth Branagh is another director who has the ability to do a large scale film that focuses on the story and characters while not losing sight of just how big the film is as seen with his last film, Marvel Studios’ Thor. Branagh would definitely hit all the right marks when it comes to getting the Shakespearean and iconic elements into a Star Wars film. There’s plenty of archetypical story telling in the original trilogy that could be brought back by someone with Branagh’s sentiments.
Joe Johnston
First off, let’s remember that he is quite familiar with material. And we’re not talking the prequels. Johnston worked as a concept artist and effects technician on all three of the original films. Additionally, Johnston has actually shown interest in directing a Star Wars film in the past. A few years back, Johnston talked about wanting to do a film that would focus on Boba Fett, so the interest and desire to do a Star Wars film is definitely there. As seen with his work on Captain America: The First Avenger, the director has the ability to deliver a good sense of a broad story with his films while still not losing site of it’s characters. The only problem Johnston may have with the film would be delivering the dark elements that are definitely needed.
With a 2015 release targeted for the film, it should be expected that sometime soon we will learn who Disney will be putting behind the camera for Episode VII. However, the most important thing here is getting the story for this film right. And we currently have no idea what the story is at all for the film. So, until then we have no idea whether any of these choices will actually be the right choice for the film. Are there any directors out there that you would like to see helm the next chapter in the Star Wars franchise?