This week saw Colin Trevorrow leave the production of Episode IX due to creative differences with Lucasfilm. Trevorrow was not my first choice for the third director but I was hoping I’d be surprised by him. It can be said at least that he isn’t talking down about Lucasfilm or Disney and it wasn’t an actual firing in the same way that it was for Lord and Miller(Han Solo) earlier this year. Trevorrow has yet to officially comment on the situation(or if he has I can’t find it. Feel free to post in the comments if you know something different.) but Lucasfilm released this statement :
“Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.”
So it sounds like they left things in a fairly amicable way due to that but of course we know that could just be them trying to save face. Either way, Trevorrow is out, so who could take his place? Well I have a few different ideas for this :
The Obvious Choices : Rian Johnson or JJ Abrams
Now obviously these guys would do well since we’ve already seen one of them handle what will most likely be the most difficult of the three films due to the project having so much hinging on it and the other guy’s film looks incredible and is already getting high praise from everyone who has read the script. I would love to see either of these guys get it if they both still want in.
The Long Shot : Sam Mendes
For those of you that don’t know, Sam Mendes was the director of Skyfall and Spectre which were the last two James Bond films. I personally loved each of these films and it was a perfect revitalization of the series with some even claiming that Skyfall was the best bond film to date. I think Mendes would understand the importance of the series he was taking on and would work tirelessly to bring the latest trilogy to a worthy close.
The Dream Choice : Brad Bird
I want to talk about a film that I absolutely love. A film with pitch perfect pacing, cast and dialogue. That film is Mission Impossible : Ghost Protocol. Easily one of the best action films of the last 20 years and personally I don’t think Bird gets enough credit for it. This film was exceptional and I think Bird needs another big time live action series following his work on Incredibles 2. I believe that Bird would have the heart needed for this production and the fact that he was considered for The Force Awakens makes it even better. Bird would absolutely be my number one choice for this film.
The Most Likely Choice : Michelle MacLaren
Westworld, Breaking Bad, The X-Files, Game Of Thrones and The Walking Dead have two major things in common.
1. They’ve all won emmys
2. They’ve all had episodes directed by Michelle MacLaren.
I truly think she would be a great choice for the finale and I think it’d be a great move by Lucasfilm. MacLaren was originally going to do the Wonder Woman film but had to leave due to creative differences but I don’t necessarily think that’s entirely her fault.(Future Article, I promise.) I’d love to see what she can do with the series and I’d love to see what she can do with a feature film in general but if you wanna do something great then always go with Star Wars.
