10 Directors Who Turned Down Star Wars Movies

David Fincher made his directorial bow in one of the most revered sci-fi franchises of its time, though critical reaction to Alien 3 back in 1992 clearly influenced a change in direction for him. He came back strongly with Seven (1995) and finished the decade on a high with Fight Club (1999), though at that stage Fincher had already experienced life on the set of Star Wars film.

One of his earliest jobs in the industry was as an assistant cameraman and photographer for Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company founded by George Lucas. Despite working on Return Of The Jedi, Fincher isn't too fond of the film, and his preference for The Empire Strikes Back ultimately influenced his decision when it came to directing Episode VII.

The Gone Girl director revealed that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy approached him about the possibility of helming The Force Awakes, though, with George Lucas having recently sold his space saga to Disney, Fincher was apprehensive about the direction the new Star Wars films were going to take:

“It’s tricky … My favourite is The Empire Strikes Back. If I said, ‘I want to do something more like that,’ then I’m sure the people paying for it would be like, ‘No! You can’t do that! We want it like the other one with all the creatures!’”