Brad Bird Turned Down Star Wars To Make A Box Office Bomb
Before J.J. Abrams was crowned as the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, there were many other genre directors rumored for the coveted job. Star Wars fans wanted the likes of Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, or Joss Whedon, but ultimately the Mouse House went with Abrams. Another very popular fan choice was director Brad Bird, who turned down the job to direct the Tomorrowland instead.
In an interview with THR, Brad Bird revealed why he said “no” to Lucasfilm and the Star Wars job. Apparently, Disney did approach him, but he declined their offer because of scheduling issues.
Brad Bird explained about the Star Wars and Tomorrowland conflict, “They did come to me. But the problem was, the schedule they had in mind made it impossible to do…unless I dropped Tomorrowland. And I was just really deeply into this film at that point.”
Brad Bird continued on, “It’s easy to say, ‘Just put it on hold.’ But you’re moving now; you don’t know if you’re going to be able to move later. I love the Star Wars films, and I can’t wait to see what J.J. does, but it meant I’d have to shut down one dream to participate in another. I feel like [with Tomorrowland] we’re making something that’s really special and unique.”
Let’s start by saying, there’s something admirable about following what you believe in, Brad Bird exemplifies that here. But if it came down to scheduling, you turn down Tomorrowland and direct Star Wars: Episode VII instead. And it doesn’t seem like it should really be that hard of a decision.
No matter how good Tomorrowland could have been, Star Wars is the biggest movie franchise in Hollywood history, so how could anyone say “no” to that? You should turn down practically anything if only for the sweet, sweet paycheck you’d get to direct a Star Wars movie.
Brad Bird would have made a fine Star Wars movie. He made a really good transition from animation to live-action moviemaking with the 2011 sequel film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
And how did Tomorrowland do when it released in 2014? Well, not so great. It follows the story of a disillusioned genius inventor, Frank Walker (George Clooney), and a teenage science enthusiast, Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), The set off on an adventure to an alternate dimension known as Tomorrowland.
It was all about uncovering secrets and saving the future of Earth. The film received mixed reviews and it grossly underperformed at the box office, taking approximately $209 million worldwide against a production budget of $180 million
Does Brad Bird wish he had done Star Wars instead? How could he not?
