Here are six directors who would rule a 'Star Wars' spinoff movie
That disturbance in the Force you felt on Friday? It's what happens when a Star Wars director exits, asteroid left, from the galaxy far, far away.
Disney/Lucasfilm announced the departure of Fantastic Four director Josh Trank from one of the upcoming Star Wars spinoff movies, projects labeled as "anthology" films and designed to flesh out the far corners of George Lucas' cinematic universe. The first, director Gareth Edwards' Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One (about a unit tasked with stealing the plans of the Death Star), comes out next year while Trank's was to follow Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017.
Not to worry, though — this isn't quite as disastrous as Han Solo getting ejected from the Millennium Falcon mid-flight or Luke Skywalker forgetting R2-D2 on a mission in his X-Wing Fighter. There are probably tons of filmmakers just waiting to step in and helm a Star Wars movie.
And here are six that get our blessing — that is, if Jabba the Hutt doesn't have a bounty on their heads:
Edgar Wright
Hopefully there are no hard feelings between the British director and Disney after his departure from Marvel's Ant-Man because Wright would be great for digging into the quirkier parts of the Star Wars universe that Lucas' original trilogy introduced. Heck, just put Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in the Mos Eisley cantina, and we're there opening night.
Colin Trevorrow
The dude is a huge Star Wars fan — and told us so — plus if his Jurassic World is a hit next month, he'll have his pick of blockbuster-worthy Hollywood fare. You don't have to give him dinos or Rancors monsters on parade though — his indie sci-fi flick Safety Not Guaranteed proved he can make magic on a small budget. Maybe even a Yoda-sized one.
Duncan Jones
Like Trevorrow — and Edwards and Trank, too — the Source Code director is another young filmmaker with a lot of vision. And if he needs someone to play Boba Fett, he's got Jake Gyllenhaal on speed dial.
Michelle MacLaren
It's only a matter of time until Star Wars gets a female director, so why not get the Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones veteran who ends up on the short list of almost every upcoming superhero movie these days? Even better, she just left Wonder Woman so her schedule's free in case there's a Princess Leia film to be had.
Guillermo del Toro
Dark fantasy tales are his bread and butter, and just imagine what the Mexican director could do with a movie digging into the history of Sith Lords or exploring the underworld with a bunch of intergalactic bounty hunters. (A road-trip movie in space with Dengar and Bossk? We approve!) His involvement would have immediate nerd support but might not break the Internet. The only way that would happen is if Lucasfilm signed up...
Joss Whedon
Before you whip out your lightsabers to strike us down without mercy for getting hopes up, the geek god told us he'd consider it if offered a Star Wars movie. Plus he's already in the Disney family since he made a couple of small Avengers movies. Plus it'd be a spinoff film and not one of the flagship "episodes" so he could maybe do something more intimate. Plus he'd have time to take a long nap and rest in his post-Age of Ultron period. Come on, Whedon could make a movie featuring Ewoks, Jar-Jar Binks and the Max Rebo Band and it would probably be one of the biggest of all time.