Top 5 – Directors Who Should Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

Yesterday, it was announced that director Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing Star Wars: Episode IX after he and Disney mutually agreed to part ways due to creative differences.  Personally, I am a big fan of this move.  I loved Trevorrow’s debut film, Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), but after the lackluster Jurassic World (2015) and the bizarre The Book of Henry (2017), I lost faith in Trevorrow as a director.  But now, the Star Wars franchise needs a new director, and I have a few in mind.  Here are my picks for the directors who should direct Star Wars: Episode IX.

5 – STEVEN SPIELBERG

This one probably won’t happen, but man, wouldn’t this be great?  A Spielberg-directed Star Wars film is a cinematic dream.  The last time Spielberg worked with a George Lucas property, it was the Indiana Jones franchise, which, minus Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), is one of the finest film franchises ever made.  Spielberg has done everything when it comes to film.  He’s made smaller movies, he invented the blockbuster, he’s been to space and all other parts of the galaxy.  He can make effects-driven films and films about human drama.  This is everything Star Wars is and looks to continue to be.  Again, this probably won’t happen, but it would be perfect if it did.

4 – JON FAVREAU

This is easily the safest choice.  Like Spielberg, Favreau is a fan favorite and probably one of the top choices for fans and even the studio.  He is really tight with Disney, making the wildly successful Jungle Book (2016) and now making the live-action Lion King (2019).  He also kickstarted the MCU with Iron Man (2008), which for my money, is still the best and most important MCU movie to date.  His movies make a ton of money, are critically acclaimed, and even get some awards love.  He essentially checks off every box Disney would want in a director.  My only reservation is that Favreau’s films tend to lean on the lighter side, so I think his Star Wars film would lean more towards JJ Abrams tone as opposed to the dark tone I believe director Rian Johnson is going for in Episode VIII.  Regardless, Favreau would be a great choice and make a great movie.

3 – JAMES WAN 

James Wan has proven he can do anything.  He first started off with small budget horror films like Saw (2004) and has since progressed to big budget horror movies like The Conjuring (2013) and blockbuster franchises in Fast 7 (2015) and the upcoming Aquaman (2018).  His work in Fast 7 is his most impressive feat, not only because it showed he can handle movies on the biggest scale possible and was able to work within a studio system, but also because of how he handled the death of Paul Walker with such class.  He would work in the Disney system and still be able to make the movie he would want.  Wan is a crafty director with some cool camera tricks up his sleeve and would bring a fresh look to the Star Wars franchise.

2 – KATHRYN BIGELOW

Aside from Spielberg, Bigelow is the most accomplished director on this list.  Yet even after her Oscar win for The Hurt Locker (2009) and countless other awards and critical acclaim with Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Detroit (2017), along with fan favorites like Point Break (1991), Bigelow has yet to get a big break with a major franchise.  This could be a personal choice, but Bigelow would shine in Episode IX.  Rian Johnson is taking the Star Wars franchise to a darker place and Bigelow would be able to keep that same tone and give the film a look never seen before in a Star Wars movie.  Bigelow is one of the best directors working today.  She is great at action, drama, and character driven pieces and she would make a Star Wars movie unlike any we have ever seen before.

1 – RIAN JOHNSON 

Everything that I have heard about The Last Jedi is that Johnson is taking the tone and going a completely different route than JJ Abrams did with The Force Awakens.  Just from the teaser trailer, you can see it is going to be a lot darker and a lot grittier.  Johnson is a unique filmmaker, utilizing different camera techniques while also being able to flesh out his characters and put together great stories and cool action sequences.  So if this is what he is going to do for Episode VIII, why not keep him for IX?  Abrams was used to bring old Star Wars fans back and to introduce new fans to the the franchise, making a fun, though familiar film.  But Johnson has been brought in to move the franchise forward, both story wise and technically, and should be able to flesh this out through two movies.  He is wildly talented and deserves to finish the series with the same tone and style as The Last Jedi.

Who do you think should direct Star Wars: Episode IX?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.