10 Directors Who Turned Down Star Wars Movies

Another film that Guillermo del Toro backed out of negotiations to direct was the collapsed adaptation of Halo, leaving the door open for upcoming sci-fi helmer Neill Blomkamp to take on his first blockbuster. It was the South African-Canadian director's involvement with Microsoft's huge video game franchise that would ultimately put him off working on a Star Wars movie.

After his "nightmare" on Halo, Blomkamp decided to develop a feature-length version of his short film Alive In Joburg instead, which was released to critical acclaim as District 9. He was working on his next sci-fi venture, the Matt Damon-led Elysium, when producer and close friend Simon Kinberg approached him about the possibility of getting involved with the upcoming expansion of the Star Wars universe.

As well as being heavily involved in the X-Men franchise (he produced and co-wrote both Days Of Future Past and Apocalypse), Kinberg has been helping Disney to map out their long-term plan for Star Wars. His attempts to recruit the sought-after Blomkamp to their cause were fruitless, however, with the director telling his friend and colleague that he would continue to work on new properties after his time working on Halo soured him on existing ones.