I’m surprised that the Internet is still functioning fully and cyberspace hasn’t imploded after the bombshell last week of Disney purchasing Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. When this news broke, it was confirmed that a new Star Wars film was set for 2015. Since then, there’s been comments from Mark Hamill on his possible involvement in any future films. Then, only this week, there’s stories coming out to say that Harrison Ford would be open to reprising his role as the original scruffy looking nerf herder himself, Han Solo. There’s still no definite news on what direction any new films will take, although there are a few rumblings on who may be directing the next film.
Collider are reporting that the current front runner to take on the Star Wars saga is Matthew Vaughn. In fairness to Collider, their reports over the years tend to be pretty accurate, meaning I’ll take this rumour with a bit less salt than I normally would. It was only in the last few weeks that Vaughn walked away from X-Men: Days of Future Past, with a reason for this still not given. Reports are indicating that Vaughn had already been in talks with Lucasfilm about taking on a new Star Wars film. I’m a fan of the X-Men franchise as a whole, but I’m pretty sure that no sane person would turn down the lure of Star Wars is Mr Lucas came knocking.
Could these be the ones trusted with the Star Wars saga?
Vaughn certainly has a good rep with the geeks out there, directing the brilliantly geektastic Kick-Ass, showing a gritty, violent, cool side with Layer Cake, showing his fantastical side with Stardust and successfully relaunching the X-Men series with a film that I thought was superbly executed and did a great job of working within the constraints of already well established characters. Not a bad track record if you’re looking for somebody to helm a new Star Wars installment. With talk of Vaughn joining the wretched hive of scum and villainy, there’s also talk of Jane Goldman (writer of Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class) following suit.
What’s certain is, that with a 2015 release date, the powers that be will have to get things moving faster than a podrace. Take into consideration that summer 2015 is less that three years away, and George Lucas took three years to make each of his prequel trilogy, that means that Disney are already fighting the clock. To me, this only adds further credence to the stories that, not only was a director already being lined up, but that work on a script for a new Star Wars film is well underway.
Keep your eyes peeled for more news as it becomes available.
Confessions of a Nerf Herder 