Back in 2013 when Disney was still formulating its plans for Star Wars following the Lucasfilm acquisition and Star Wars: The Force Awakens was still a twinkle in J.J. Abrams’ eye, rumours began circulating that Watchmen and Man of Steel director Zack Snyder was being eyed to direct a standalone movie in the galaxy far, far away.
The original report – which was denied at the time by Snyder’s reps – was described as “a Jedi epic” loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, which would have taken place after the events of Return of the Jedi. Ultimately, the project never came to fruition, and now Snyder has revealed to The Film Junkee that while he’s an enormous Star Wars fan, he doesn’t believe he’d be a good fit for the franchise.
“I am a huge Star Wars fan,” said Snyder. “The reason why I started making movies when I was 11 years old was because of Star Wars. For sure it has been a huge influence on me and really got me into this mythic path with the Joseph Campbellian take on archetypes and storytelling. Star Wars is that to me. I have interest in Star Wars. I don’t think I have a story written now that… I don’t know how I’d fit into the Star Wars universe anymore. I don’t know what it is. So it’s a thing I love, but I don’t know if I… maybe it’s moved on from me. I still love it and I have lightsabers everywhere around the house.”
Snyder certainly has his hands full at the moment, with the filmmaker busy putting the finishing touches to The Snyder Cut of Justice League for HBO Max as well as the zombie heist film Army of the Dead for Netflix, both of which are slated for release in 2021.
