10 Directors Who Turned Down Star Wars Movies

Brad Bird carved a route into feature filmmaking through animation, graduating from the California Institute of the Arts alongside Tim Burton and Pixar executive producer John Lasseter and later working at Pixar. In 2011, he made his transition in to live-action directing with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which went on to become the highest-grossing entry in the franchise and put him in the frame for some of the biggest upcoming jobs - Star Wars: Episode VII included.

Much like Guillermo del Toro, however, Bird was already in too deep with a project to commit himself to The Force Awakens:

"The problem was the schedule they had in mind made it impossible to do unless I dropped Tomorrowland. I love the Star Wars films, and I can’t wait to see what J.J. [Abrams] does, but it meant I’d have to shut down one dream to participate in another. I feel like [with Tomorrowland] we’re making something that’s really special and unique."

You have to wonder how Bird felt when he actually did see what J.J. did, especially in light of Tommowland's disappointing reception. Whether that film will spell the end of Brad Bird as a big-budget,lynch live-action director is yet to be seen, though the Montana-native has confirmed that he is going back to his roots with his next project, a sequel to The Incredibles pencilled in for a 2019 release.