JJ Abrams Isn't Directing 'Star Wars: Episode VII,' but Jon Favreau Won't Say 'No' to the Idea

With Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder and Quentin Tarantino all taking themselves out the running to direct Star Wars: Episode VII, two more directors weighed in on the new Star Wars flick. JJ Abrams and Jon Favreau both talked to Hollywood Life about the possibility of taking on the daunting task of assuming directorial control of George Lucas' franchise.

Abrams, whose name many people have brought up, had this to say:

“Look, Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time,” J.J. gushed. He added, “I frankly feel that – I almost feel that, in a weird way, the opportunity for whomever it is to direct that movie, it comes with the burden of being that kind of iconic movie and series. I was never a big Star Trek fan growing up, so for me, working on Star Trek didn’t have any of that, you know, almost fatal sacrilege, and so, I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer!”

Sounds like Abrams is in the same boat as Snyder. Too big of a fan of Star Wars to risk screwing things up. I like Abrams, but his projects can sometimes get overshadowed by their own hype. Cloverfield and  Super 8 were marketed as the next greatest thing, but neither changed the face of cinema. Tossing Abrams into the massive hype machine that's going to surround Star Wars: Episode VII would be trouble.

What about Favreau? He's already a part of the Star Wars universe, voicing Pre Vizsla on Star Wars: Clone Wars. How would he feel about being Lucas' successor?

“I think both J.J. and I come from a generation of people who formed our whole creative persona around what we experienced as kids from watching those films, and I have had the good fortune of working with George [Lucas] and around George, and whether it is doing a voice on Clone Wars, or being at the Skywalker Ranch mixing Iron Man – so I have been very happy and lucky to just experience the culture that Lucas has created, both in my own life growing up as a kid and professional – whether it was interviewing him at film festivals on stage, he is just a really wonderful, talented gifted guy who has changed the business so much, so I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see.”

Before Iron Man changed the face of the superhero movie world and launched the Marvel Cinematic universe, Favreau was considered an odd choice to bring Tony Stark to the big screen. He obviously proved us all wrong with that one. While he wasn't on my Episode VII radar, Favreau could be an interesting choice. Like he pointed out, he's familiar with Star Wars. Whoever directs the new movie should be able to balance the weight of the fate of the galaxy far, far away along side the fun of Jedi and aliens. Favreau might be that guy.