Star Wars Episode IX: 10 Directors Who Could Replace Colin Trevorrow

3. Denis Villeneuve

Why He Should Direct: Denis Villeneuve is arguably the most talented director to rise to prominence over the last five years, with his movies Prisoners, Sicario and especially last year's Arrival cementing him as a master filmmaker.

Villeneuve is currently finishing up production on the long-awaited Blade Runner 2049, and the fact that he's been put in charge of resurrecting such a sacrosanct property is definitely compelling evidence of his suitability for Star Wars. That's assuming the new Blade Runner is actually good, of course.

How Likely Is It?: Villeneuve is already set to direct an adaptation of Frank Herbert's legendary sci-fi opus Dune, though considering the likelihood that the project will spend several more years in pre-production, there's probably ample time for him to squeeze in a Star Wars movie.

On the flip-side, Villeneuve is an auteur who will almost certainly not enjoy conforming to a studio's big-budget house style, and Kennedy might deem his approach too deliberate for Star Wars.

This could go either way, really. 5/10