David Fincher declined the chance to direct a ‘Star Wars’ movie because of the pressure involved in helming one of the blockbusters.
The 55-year-old filmmaker started his film career working in the visual effects department on the last movie of the original sci-fi trilogy, ‘Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi’, and he was sounded out by President of Lucasfilm and ‘Star Wars’ brand manager Kathleen Kennedy about helming one of the new sequels but he decided against it because of the huge commitment involved and the fear of failing the franchise.
Speaking to Empire magazine, Fincher said: "I talked to producer Kathleen Kennedy about that and look, it’s a plum assignment. But I don’t know what’s worse: being George Lucas on the set of the first one where everyone’s going, ‘Alderaan? What the hell is this?’
"Where everyone’s making fun, but I can’t imagine the kind of intestinal fortitude one has to have following up the success of these last two. It’s a whole other level. One is that you have to endure the withering abuse of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and the other is you have to live up to a billion or a billion-five, and that become its own kind of pressure. I think ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ director Irvin Kershner had the best job. He had a pretty great script and he had the middle story. He didn’t have to worry about where it started and he didn’t have to worry about where it ended. And he had the great reveal."
Fincher was also wary of committing a solid two years of his life to a ‘Star Wars’ adventure because the saga would become all-consuming, leaving little room for anything else.
He added: "You’d have to really clear you head, I think. You’d have to really be sure this is what you wanted to do because either way it’s two years of your life, 14 hours a day, seven days a week."
Fincher’s filmography reads like a list of some of Hollywood’s greatest ever thrillers and includes ‘Seven’, ‘Zodiac’, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ and ‘Gone Girl’.
His latest project is Netflix TV series ‘Mindhunter’.
David Fincher had conversation about directing a Star Wars film
