Who Should Direct the New Star Wars?

Wow, a new Star Wars movie! This is probably some of most shocking and exciting news I have heard in a while! My first reaction was a little mixed, but the more I think about it the more I'm getting excited about it! My brother Myke blogged about this earlier and gave five reasons why he's excited about it, and I pretty much agree with him on all of his 5 reasons. (Especially the one about going to Midnight showings again!) You can read his post here.

Not sure if I am use to seeing these two names so close together yet, but I'm sure I will soon  enough. 

Now some people think that Star Wars should be done with films. They say that the sage is complete, that George Lucas is moving on, and so should everyone else. My thought has always been, why? People love Star Wars, and there will always be new books, comics, video games, and TV shows, so why shouldn't there be new movies too? Movies are my favorite way of entertainment so I couldn't be more happy that they are choosing to make more films. Star Wars was first envisioned as film to begin with so its only appropriate that it continues that way.

There's no turning back now George!

The main problem I saw with the prequels was that George Lucas was a great storyteller but not a great film director, or screen writer. Now that Star Wars is in new hands I am very optimistic that a good director and writing staff should be able to do great things with it. Disney has a done a good job so far with Marvel and Pixar so I feel that they should be able to do the same with Star Wars. 

With all that said I love to speculate, and I have been thinking about who I think would make a good director to continue the Star Wars saga. So here are a few of my choices. What do you think about them? Who would you want to carry on the saga? 

Brad Bird

Past Films: The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Brad Bird is the director of my two favorite Pixar movies. They are my favorites because they both have so much heart and emotion. They have characters that are fun and relatable, and as I watched those two films it really made me care for them. That is what I believe a new Star Wars film needs. Also he proved that he can direct live actors and  incredible action sequences with Mission Impossible. 

Gore Verbinski

Past Films: Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3, Rango 

I know many people didn't like the 2 and 3 Pirates movies (I for one did and you can read why I did here) , and they probably think Gore is not a good choice for a Star Wars film. But with that said all three of the pirates films were filled with action, romance, drama, humor, incredible special effects, and an outstanding soundtrack, and those are all elements that Star Wars needs. He did a great job at delivering those things, and with a good script I think he could make an epic Star Wars movie. 

JJ Abrams

Past Films: Star Trek, Super 8

With Star Trek and his tract record I think Star Wars would be in good hands with him. I doubt he would be considered because of his connection to Star Trek though.  

Alfonso Cuaron 

Past Films: Harry Potter 3 

The third Harry Potter film was one of the best of whole series. It was dark, but still kept the fun, and magical tone of the other films. Alfonso did a great job at taking over the series from another director and I think he could do it again with another series. 

Joss Whedon 

Past Films: The Avengers (nuff said) 

The thing that made him such a great director for Avengers was that he knew and appreciated the source material. Now he is going to be a long shot because he will be busy with The Avengers 2 (also coming from Disney), but I can dream can't I? 

David Yates

Past Films: Harry Potter 4-7 

Another Potter veteran, he proved that he could make a grand epic movie, and at the same time stay true to the characters. Some of the most powerful and emotional scenes are in the movies he directed, and I think he would do a great job of bring this talent to a galaxy far far away. (All though I was little disappointed with the overall battle of Hogwarts, so he may need some work on the battle sequences) 

Rupert Wyatt

Past Films: Rise of the Planet of Apes

I was really surprised at how much I liked this movie. Wyatt did a great job at rejuvenating a series that many thought was dead, and made it exciting again. He showed that he knows how to create great characters, and develop them. A new Star Wars is going need some good character development if they plan to introduce new characters, and Wyatt proved he knows how to do that. 

Well these are obviously just my opinion on who I think would make a great director, and I'm sure I'm way off, but its still fun to speculate! So what do you guys think about these guys? Is there anyone else I missed that you think would do a good job?