Zack Snyder Rumors Show Extent of Star Wars Renaissance

In an exclusive report, Vulture.com doubles down on their claim that Zack Snyder (director of Man of Steel and 300) really is involved in the production of a new Star Wars movie, but it’s not Star Wars VII:

Back in November, the Los Angeles Times reported that Man of Steel and 300director Zack Snyder said he had no interest in directing the hotly anticipated seventh Star Wars film. But Vulture has learned that while this may be specifically true — he won’t be doing Episode VII — it was a bit of misdirection: He is in fact developing a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm that is set within the series’ galaxy, though parallel to the next trilogy. It will be an as-yet-untitled Jedi epic loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, with the ronin and katana being replaced by the Force-wielding knights and their iconic lightsabers. (Go ahead, say it — you know you want to: “ … an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.” Felt good, didn’t it?)

Zack Snyder publicizing 300 at ComicCon wearing a gaming shirt. Man’s got some geek-cred, so that’s something.

Vulture cites an anonymous expert who claims that this isn’t going to be Star Wars VIII either. Instead of being any of the numbered sequences that tell the main story of the Star Wars universe, this is going to be separate, stand-alone project.

The fact that a project like that is already far enough along in the works to have a director attached is a good indication that the scope of Disney’s plans for the franchise are much, much bigger than just picking up where Lucas quit and carrying the series forward. My initial reaction? Thrilled excitement. It sounds innovative and a little artistic. What could be better than small, one-off pieces exploring specific aspects of the Star Wars universe? If the new movies are any good, then we’re not going to be able to get enough of them.

My second reaction? That’s a big “if”, and this could as easily be seen as a sign of just trying to cash out as opposed to showing us new perspectives on the world of Star Wars.

So here’s where I’m at now: the most successful franchise in the last couple of decades (off the top of my head, but I think it’s probably right) is Marvel’s Avengers, including all of the titles (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man 1, 2 and now 3) that tie into it. This must be the model for Disney, and it’s not a bad model to follow. Not only are they churning those movies out and raking in the dough, but they are doing it with high quality as well. Those are universally good–sometimes great–films. They are an exampl of corporate movie-making done right.

If the Marvel treatment is in store for Star Wars, I could be perfectly OK with that.

In a way, however, it doesn’t really matter. The fact that I’m typing this many words about it shows that they’ve already got me hooked.

5 thoughts on “Zack Snyder Rumors Show Extent of Star Wars Renaissance”

  1. That would be awesome if Star Wars became a sci-fi playground for talented content-makers. And I think that Disney will most likely keep the standards pretty high. Cool!

    is it too much to ask for them to remake the prequels in a few years once Lucas has gone the way of all the earth?

  2. I could go for a Star Wars-themed ‘Seven Samurai’ and ‘The Magnificent Seven’. ‘Star Wars’ (meaning the original) is basically a space western and Kurosawa films had a major influence on its development.

  3. That’s what I was thinking, too! Making Star Wars versions of classic samurai flicks sounds exactly like the kind of back-to-roots reboot that could really work for Star Wars.

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