If you managed to make it through a rather surprising and unfocused screed over on Deadline, you might have found something notable right at the end of the article. The story eventually shifts into a discussion on those Star Wars rumors, mentioning Matthew Vaughn as one that has been talked about previously, but then going on to mention two more that maybe in the running....
"As much as I’ve heard the Vaughn rumor, I’ve also heard Jon Favreau is panting after this job, and even that David Fincher, who apparently worked for Lucas’s ILM in a menial job as a teen, might be game for one of these new films."
I hadn't heard the Fincher thing in any official capacity, but had seen him on plenty of fanboy wishlists. He does have a past with Industrial Light & Magic from very early in his career, but that hardly seems like a reason for him to take on a project like this where he certainly wouldn't have much in the way of creative freedom. He's also got connections with Disney and LucasFilm prez Kathleen Kennedy, but again, whether or not these are enough to make him a true candidate is anybody's guess. My thinking is he's probably somebody who has been discussed, but wouldn't take the job.
A couple of weeks ago I said that Favreau would be the director most open to taking the job. It's exactly the sort of film he specializes in, and since he doesn't have much of a fingerprint as a filmmaker he'll simply focus on making it look like a Star Wars film. So I'm not surprised to hear that he's chasing the gig.
All this to really say that we're no closer today than we were yesterday. The ever-expanding list of contenders to the contrary, we're supposedly down to only a couple of choices. Michael Arndt is writing the Episode 7 screenplay, while Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are either scripting the sequels or spinoffs.
