It has now been over two months since Disney's takeover of the Star Wars franchise was announced. A new trilogy has been prepared to debut in 2015 and a new screenwriter has already been hired. However, the one major enigma remains: who's going to direct?
A number of major helmers have been approached to take on the gargantuan project and all of them have graciously turned it down. Among those directors are the likes of Steven Spielberg, Zach Snyder, Quentin Tarantino and JJ Abrams. The latest director to reject the notion of directing the most popular movie franchise in history is Guillermo del Toro.
According to UK publication The Guardian, the Mexican director stated, "We got one phone call to my agent saying, 'Is Guillermo interested... And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I'm pursuing stuff that I'm generating already ..."
He added that "It was very flattering. It was just a phone call, it didn't go past that, it was very nice to be asked, but believe it or not, I'm busy enough."
According to Mashable.com, Del Toro recommended Brad Bird as a solid choice to direct. "I think the fans deserve somebody that is just going to immerse themselves completely. As a geek, I would have loved to see Brad Bird take it," says Del Toro.
Brad Bird was also another director who recently turned down the project. Bird tweeted, "Not doing Star Wars... That said, Michael Arndt is a fantastic writer and [newly-appointed Lucasfilm President] Kathy Kennedy is a brilliant producer. I will be first in line to see the new STAR WARS."