I think it has to do with vision (we've heard it several times now) and maybe the reality these directors face vs. what was offered to them. At the outset, a lot was made of we want to make creative, boundary stretching SW films (mainly in the anthology series). A lot of new, hot directors got soaked up into the hype and the machine and then they started making these movies, and some found out, uh oh, there's shareholders. There's box office goals. There's a type of film that's expected as opposed to what was possible, and perhaps - who knows - that has led to some friction at all levels.
It's not just Star Wars, Marvel has had their share of lost directors too. Edgar Wright got booted from Ant-Man, Whedon left Avengers Infinity War, Patti Jenkins left Thor, etc. Film insiders were saying the same kind of things about Marvel's Kevin Feige that they are saying about KKennedy now.
Here was another good article from EW this summer about how the producers are the becoming the driving artistic forces for these Disney franchises and if directors can't work within those systems, they won't last long there.
That does seem to be an appropriate comparison. And considering that both Lucasfilm and Marvel are under the Disney banner? I can see Bob Iger and Alan Horn of Disney supporting that kind of producer first business model. I appreciate that Kathleen Kennedy has wanted to pursue some developing talent on the director front. But there's also something to be said for going with a proven performer.
So who is reasonably in contention to take on this project? There are a number of people that come to mind. George had pursued both Ron Howard and Stephen Spielberg for the PT, but they both passed. Now Ron Howard is deep in post-production for the Han Solo movie. And Spielberg is booked up for the next few years with at least 3 or 4 directing gigs for greenlit projects.
There are some other people with links to K Kennedy, like her husband Frank Marshall who has a solid history with Lucasfilm, but mostly as a producer. Joe Johnston's name was brought up when we were having this discussion about the Han Solo movie. Gareth Edwards? While ROGUE ONE was generally well received, info that came to light following the release seems to indicate that he may have been in over his head.
The most far-fetched theory I've seen is that George would come back to do E9. I just can't see it happening. I think he wanted a clean break from things, despite having shown up for set visits and at Celebration Orlando. I got the sense that a big part of why he sold the company was that he was tired of being second-guessed by fans who fancied themselves as armchair critics/screenwriters/producers, and got very vocal about everything that they felt George had done wrong with THEIR favorite film franchise. You know, the one that he created himself. Why would he want to put himself through that again?
The safe money appears to be on either JJ Abrams coming back, or Rian Johnson. Just today there was an article in the
NY Times about how 'The Last Jedi' is very much Johnson's movie, and that he has the confidence of people at Disney/Lucasfilm as both writer and director. And JJ isn't booked for any directing gigs right now.
I'm thinking that Kathleen Kennedy will tap either JJ or Rian Johnson for E9. While the new movies have had phenomenal box office grosses, the drama surrounding directors on multiple projects can't be reflecting on her well with Disney. And I think the safer bet might be the move to watch for.