‘Star Wars Episode 7′ Director Update: J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau Address Rumors
More 'Star Wars: Episode 7' news? Well, it's clear that, from now until summer 2015, we'll have at least one 'Star Wars: Episode 7' rumor for you per day. Not that we're complaining, mind you: has there ever been a movie in development more fun to speculate about? Hard to think of one.
Today we'll be bringing you updates from three of the "potential" directors of Episode 7: J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau and out-of-left-field contender Colin Trevorrow ('Safety Not Guaranteed'). The initial names are just two of many dream directors of the sequel for fanboys, while the latter is someone who has actually been connected - however tentatively - to the film. Let's get to it!
Jon Favreau has earned his geek stripes with the first 'Iron Man' film, proving he's more than capable of handling a big-budget tentpole that comes with a lot of baggage. And while he hasn't been linked in any palpable way to 'Star Wars Episode 7', he makes a great deal of sense. The question is: would he do it? We have already heard from a handful of A-listers who want no part of it (namely, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino), so someone out there has got to be yearning for the gig, right?
Speaking with Hollywood Life, Favreau said:
...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, you can add J.J. Abrams, another obvious hat in the 'Star Wars Episode 7 director' ring, to the list of people who don't want the job.
Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time. I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!
Finally, the most unlikely contestant in the 'Episode 7' sweepstakes, Colin Trevorrow, recently acted coy with Swedish podcast Filmmixern (via Slashfilm) about the rumor he's in the running, but he certainly appeared to indicate that it's not out of the realm of possibility. Here's his political answer to being asked about his attachment:
I have very little to say about it. [stammering] Certainly, no specifics about whats going on behind the scenes in the selection of that person [a director]. I think that I can speak as a Star Wars fan, which is important to me. Whoever does do this movie, I think, just needs to have a fundamental understanding of why its important to us. We come from a generation who grew up with this as children, to us its almost a belief system. Its harder for people who are older or who were already teenagers when the movie came out to understand how deeply it is our mythology.And there are a bunch of incredible directors who are up for this job… I think whoever gets it will have that fundamental understanding of why Star Wars matters so much to a billion people. Its just incredible. So that’s all I can say about that. I’m equally excited about it. … that’s all you’re gonna get!”
Make of that what you will, folks, but it's clearly not "what in the world are you talking about?!" We're sure that anyone who is legitimately up for it is obligated to remain hush-hush about it, and there can be no doubt that Disney and Lucasfilm are casting a wide net to find just the right person for the job. We can only wait until an official announcement is made - then we can start speculating about every other facet of the production!