I imagine stories like this are about to become increasingly common. Being asked to direct Star Wars Episode VII will likely go down as the biggest point of unification for every slightly genre oriented director of our generation. Except for the guy who actually takes the job, that is. Or girl. But it will be a guy.
I'm not sure why they even bothered asking Guillermo del Toro, but they did. They probably asked James Cameron and Steven Spielberg, too. Del Toro is one of the busiest guys out there, with more hypothetical projects than Quentin Tarantino and Famous Mortimer combined. And then there are his real movies. Not only is he currently finishing up Pacific Rim, but he's already been hired to write the sequel. It's easy to see how Star Wars, however mighty, would not be able to sway him from his awesome monsters and robot fighting action.
And such was his answer. The busy director did tell The Playlist that he was flattered by the offer, however. He also let slip that his favored director for the project is Brad Bird, another guy who already has a bunch of stuff to do.
I imagine we'll find out pretty soon who this mystery director will be. A lot of people have been favoring Jon Favreau lately, a choice that kind of baffles me, to be honest, but then I don't think Guillermo del Toro would be good for it either. Whoever they pick, that guy (or girl) is going to need some thick skin able to withstand the serious nerd pressure. I vote for John Waters.
About the Author: Evan Saathoff (known also by such aliases as Sam Strange and Tyler Perry) is News Editor of Badass Digest. He lived in Taiwan for two years and can order several food items in Chinese. Movies are fun, but he prefers Jesus Christ. Close personal friend to the Paranormal Activity Demon. Absurdly handsome. Weird wiener, though.
