Disneyhas had a lot of luck working with new directors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler, and James Gunn have all brought massive success to Disney and the MCU by stepping out of the box and showing well-known characters in a different light. However, when it comes to working with theStar Warsfranchise, it seems that Disney will now step away from taking chances with newer directors, according to a recent report. It is now rumored that Lucasfilm will only use “proven veteran talent who they know can handle a big budgetStar Warsproduction.” Guess that means Ethan Van Sciver is out of the question.
According to Star Wars News Net, the days of Disney and Lucasfilmexperimenting with younger directorsare over. A quick glance at what has happened since Disney acquired Lucasfilm seems to prove that, even without making an announcement. But, what exactly constitutes a “veteran” director for the studio? Rian Johnson had only a few credits to his name before tacklingThe Last Jedi, which while it was a box office success, it was one of the most divisiveStar Warsmovies in franchise history and he is now writing his own trilogy.
Colin Trevorrow already had great success withJurassic Worldand he ended upleaving the development processofStar Wars 9, later calling Lucasfilm “acidic.” Trevorrow signed up in August of 2015 and wrote the screenplay for the third and final installment of the latest trilogy with Derek Connolly, only to be let go at the beginning of this year and replaced with J.J. Abrams, who directed 2015’sThe Force Awakens. Gareth Edwards hadGodzillaunder his belt, which was a pretty massive production, but he was replaced during the reshoots and editing process forRogue Oneby Tony Gilroy.
Chris Miller and Phil Lord wereodd choicesfrom the beginning to be taking onSolo: A Star Wars Story, but Lucasfilm and Disney backed them at the very beginning before firing them last summer and hiring Ron Howard to come in and reshoot nearly all of the film. Lucasfilm obviously knows what they are doing when it comes to managing theStar Warslegacy, but it may be time to put as much trust as they did into Rian Johnson into the other directors that they hired and later fired. While Johnson’s movie was controversial, to say the least, it took chances and showed long-time fans aStar Warsfilm that they’ve never seen before.
This isn’t to say that what Ron Howard did withSolowas bad or what Tony Gilroy did to the end ofRogue Onewas bad either. It’s more of a commentary of how well Disney and Marvel Studios have worked with younger and less well known directors to deliver the goods. Granted, the Lucasfilm and Disney relationship isn’t as long as the Marvel ties andStar Warsis arguably the bigger franchise, but there’s something to be said about taking chances and seeing them through until the end. You can read more about the Disney and Lucasfilm saga atStar Wars News Net.
