When Disney completed its purchase of Lucasfilm way back in 2012, one of the first directors linked to an ‘Anthology’ project outside of the main Skywalker Saga was that of Zack Snyder, with the filmmaker rumoured to be in contention for a standalone movie inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
While that rumour never panned out, Snyder has made no secret of his affection for Star Wars, but in an interview with The Times to promote his new Netflix film Army of the Dead, the filmmaker has admitted that he doesn’t believe his style and vision would fit with Lucasfilm and its plans for the franchise.
“Where it gets difficult is when you take a director with a personal point of view and ask him to participate in a thing that is not asking for that,” said Snyder. “The journeyman filmmaker? There are a lot of them, and they’re good. I just happen to have a specific point of view… The lesson I’ve learned is it’s much easier for me, as a filmmaker, to create a world and invite you into it. As opposed to me saying, ‘Let me put my cog in your wheel.’ Like, I would love to make a Star Wars movie. I know a lot about it… but I don’t think I would survive that.”
Lucasfilm has certainly had its issues with filmmakers over the past few years (see Gareth Edwards on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Phil Lord and Chris Miller on Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Colin Trevorrow on Star Wars: Episode IX), and so it’s understandable why Snyder would be reluctant to get involved with Star Wars, particularly after his experience with Warner Bros. on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
A Zack Snyder Star Wars movie may not be on the cards any time soon, but fans do have the action-packed zombie heist thriller Army of the Dead to look forward to when it releases in cinemas this Friday and on Netflix from May 21st.
