J.J. Abrams Thinks Ava Duvernay Should Direct Star Wars Film
With both a new trilogy, the first part of which comics out next week, and a bunch of spinoff films coming starting next year, a lot of talent is going to be needed to make Star Wars films once again. For Lucasfilm, one of the key roles they want to fill is the director’s position. As noted, every film, both main trilogy and spinoff, will have a different director. One wish Lucasfilm has is to hire a female director for the Star Wars films, which has never happened before. For current Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, he was asked by The Nerdist about who he thought would be a great female director for Star Wars. His response? Ava Duvernay.
“The knee-jerk reaction, if I had to [choose], is Ava Duvernay, who I think would just kill it,” he told the Nerdist. “She is as much a fan of genre movies, and hearing her talk about not just ‘Star Wars,’ but… those kind of films is evidence she would just kill it… Look at her work in ‘Selma,’ which was as well told and as sophisticated and humane a film as I think has come out in the last decade. I mean, she is someone — if she can do that story that well — there’s no question she’d kill this movie.”
Currently, several other Star Wars films have directors. Gareth Edwards is directing Rogue One, and Rian Johnson is directing Episode VIII. Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow is set to direct Episode IX. Currently, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord of The LEGO Movie fame are set to direct the Han Solo origin movie. Could Ava Duvernay be a director for another anthology film? I guess we will have to wait and see.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is up first, and it hits theaters on December 18.