It doesn't happen often and when it does the reasons for it vary, almost to never be repeated again. Despite motives for returning to familiar ground a lot of excitement seems to build around directors who remake their own films. Very few directors out there are lucky enough to have such iconic credits under their belts that they have been made household names in their own right. These properties were typically original pieces produced when they were much younger and propelled them into the A List of Hollywood talent. One thing we know for sure about H-wood is that if something worked once they are sure to try it again. Thus every once and awhile under a strange moon directors will be hired to helm the remake, sequel, or prequel of a property that once made them famous.
5. George Lucas - Star Wars
Putting any and all mixed feelings for the prequels aside we always knew Lucas would make them someday. He admitted to as much, stating that he had had the stories for six other episodes of Star Wars; what came before and after IV, V, and VI. The fact that Star Wars: A New Hope was always meant to be called episode IV is evidence enough. The real question is why did Lucas wait so long? The span between Return of the Jedi and Phantom Menace was an exhausting sixteen years. Wouldn't it have made more sense to make the sequel trilogy first when all of the actors would still have been young enough to carry the leading roles? What makes the whole shebang even weirder is that one fact's for sure: George Lucas did not pull an Avatar with the prequels. He was not working on them the entire time like Cameron claims he was for his own "Star Wars for the next generation" during his directing hiatus. It seems like the prequels were made as an afterthought, however, the facts show otherwise. Now Disney owns freaking everything.