With Jon Favreau, Taika Waititi, and Peyton Reed all directing episodes ofThe Mandalorian, and with the announcement thatWaititi also has a Star Wars film in the works, it seems thatStar Warsis pulling a lot of talent from Marvel over into their camp. It makes sense that more Marvel directors might follow in their footsteps, but which ones are the right fit for moving to a galaxy far far away?
Directors familiar with theMarvel Cinematic Universemight be uniquely suited to taking on aStar Warsproperty because they already have experience dealing with a big, expansive world that is beloved by fans, and might feel less pressure in that respect than a director who hasn’t dealt with such franchises. They also already have experience taking characters everyone knows and loves and expanding on them, and taking their stories in new directions, which isthe kind of thing theStar Warsfranchise needs. There are quite a few MCU directors that could breathe some new life intoStar Wars.
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The most obvious choice is probably James Gunn,director of theGuardians of the Galaxyfilms. If Star Wars wants someone who has experience directing a movie about a giant adventure in space, Gunn seems like a safe option to go for. He would be a good choice ifStar Warswants to take a slightly more wacky route, rather than its normally slightly more grounded tone, and lean more into comedy.
Guardians of the Galaxygave fans plenty of fun characters from different alien species, so a James GunnStar Warsmovie could focus more on different alien species, and what makes them wacky and interesting. IfStar Warsis looking for aGuardians of the Galaxyfeel for their next project, Gunn would be a great person to bring on board.
It’s easy to imagine Gunn helming a new entry in theStar Warscanon, but what about some less straightforward (or at least, more interesting) choices?
One of these could be Scott Derrickson, director of Marvel’sDoctor Strange. While he has been involved with the MCU in the past, Derrickson is most known for being a horror director, and it would be interesting to see the kind of tone he could bring to a darkerStar Warsfilm or TV show. Derrickson has also expressed interest in creating aStar Warsmovie, specificallyan R-rated Lovecraftian horror story set on Hoth.
While an R-rating might be a bit extreme for a Disney-ownedStar Wars, it would still be very interesting to see a dark, horror-inspired take on the universe, especially with a focus on creepy creatures. TheStar Warsuniverse has a variety of scary aliens and monster-like beings, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to darken the tone and set a story around something like that. Derrickson could takeStar Warsin a completely new direction, and though it might feel a bit like foreign territory for the franchise, it might be the breath of fresh air that it needs.
The last pick is a bit of a wild card, because it’s a bit more questionable for a switch toStar Warsthan the previous directors have been, but Ryan Coogler,director ofBlack Panther, might be able to take aStar Warsstory to interesting new places. Other thanBlack Panther, none of Coogler’s past work has been quite on the scale of aStar Warsmovie, and so on the surface, it might not seem like his niche. However, his work onBlack Pantherproved that he could handle an expansive world and beloved characters with grace and depth.
Coogler is someone who is able to tell a big story that really focuses on characters and their personal struggles, which would fit really well into theStar Warsuniverse.While lightsaber fights and shiny space battlesare fun to watch, having three-dimensional characters and detailed writing is what can take a story from good to great, and with Coogler at the helm, audiences could get aStar Warsmovie or TV show that reflects real social issues (and it’s not as though theStar Warsfranchise has shied away from that in the past). Most of all, it would be wonderful to have some more diversity inStar Wars, both in front of and behind the camera.
With all of the new shows and movies that Star Wars currently has in the pipeline, it might be a while before anyone else is attached to their new properties, but it will be interesting to see which talent Disney chooses to head up the next big Star Wars story. If they’re looking within the company atsome of their Marvel family, they certainly have some great picks to choose from!
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