Ever since Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion and announced three new films, everyone's been pointing fingers left and right at who should step in to re-imagine the franchise.
Through all the rumors, it looks like there may be a sound candidate for the job.
The guys over at Collider are hearing "X-Men: First Class" director Matthew Vaughn is in talks to direct Episode VII, saying it's the main reason he dropped out of working on the "X-Men" sequel:
"Why would Vaughn abruptly drop out of helming the X-Men sequel when the head of 20th Century Fox (Tom Rothman) is leaving the studio? After all, while Rothman helped make some great movies over the past few years, he’s also known as a micro-manager that can rub some filmmakers the wrong way. With Rothman out, I imagine Vaughn would have had more creative control on the sequel and it would have been an easier film to make.
But if Lucasfilm offered Vaughn the keys to Star Wars, that’s something he’d likely jump ship for."
Though "X-Men" earned $353.6 million worldwide, the earnings for a new "Star Wars" film could surpass that by a longshot. "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" alone has earned $848.7 million worldwide.
Here are the lifetime adjusted domestic grosses for the original "Star Wars" saga:
"Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope": $1.4 billion
"Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back": $787.4 million
"Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi": $754.4 million
Vaughn is also responsible for "Kick Ass," "Stardust," and "Layer Cake" starring Daniel Craig. He's currently working "Kick-Ass 2."
However, Celebuzz reported "Safety Not Guaranteed" indie director Colin Trevorrow is definitely on the short list of directors in early discussions to helm Episode VII.
With the one well-received indie film in the past , we find it difficult to believe Disney would rest the resurgence of a $4 billion dollar franchise on the creator of a viral short rather than a well-established director.
Neither Vaughn nor Trevorrow made our list of directors we'd like to see make the next installment.