Today you can scratch three names off the list of directors that you’d want to see helm the new Star Wars film as Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder and Quentin Tarantino have all said that they would not be interested in taking on the job of directing Star Wars: Episode VII.
First up is Spielberg, who told Access Hollywood that he would not want to direct the film, stating that it wasn’t his genre. “No! No! It’s not my genre. It’s my best friend George’s genre,” said the director in an interview. Considering the fact that Spielberg has given audiences some very successful sci-fi films (Minority Report, Close Encounters of the Third Kind etc.) though, fans may beg to differ that science fiction isn’t the director’s genre.
Next we have Quentin Tarantino, who told EW that “I could so care less. No, sorry. Especially if Disney’s going to do it. I’m not interested in the Simon West version of Star Wars.” I really can’t see QT going into sci-fi anyways, at least not family friendly sci-fi like Star Wars, so this really doesn’t come as a surprise. The director isn’t well suited for the Star Wars universe and I’m surprised that people were even considering him in the first place. Would I like to see him tackle sci-fi one day? Perhaps, but it would have to be a hard-R sci-fi script, not something like Star Wars.
Finally, there’s Zack Snyder, who expressed similar thoughts to his colleagues in an interview with the LA Times. “I don’t think I’d be interested in [directing it],” said Snyder. “I’m a huge ‘Star Wars’ fanatic. I just think doing [episodes] seven, eight and nine is just a slippery slope. It’s a whole other mythological experiment I’m excited to see, but it’s a lot of effort.”
He has a point, taking on this role is a ton of work and effort and whoever does step into the director’s chair will be making a pretty large commitment, one that many directors may not be able to make. And besides, like Tarantino, Snyder is another director whose vision wouldn’t compliment the Star Wars universe. We don’t want a hyper-realistic, slow-mo ladened Star Wars film do we?
Of course, there’s still hope for Star Wars: Episode VII. Like I said, I wouldn’t want to see Tarantino or Snyder behind the camera anyways. Spielberg, maybe, but the other two, not really. And besides, I’m still hoping that either Christopher Nolan (I know, wishful thinking) or Rian Johnson will take the reigns on this one.
So yes, you can now cross off Spielberg, Tarantino and Snyder but honestly, I’m not too disappointed. The film is in the capable hands of writer Michael Arndt and you can bet that his name on the script will draw in some top directing talent.