Did We Seriously Lose Out on a David Fincher 'Star Wars' Movie (Twice)?

The world of Star Wars has been fraught with whiffs and what-ifs recently. Late last week, we heard about a scrapped Soderbergh and Adam Driver Star Wars movie that had the internet in an uproar.

But just last night, informative Hollywood mailer The InSneider reported that David Fincher also had conversations with Lucasfilm.

Let's break it down.

Just How Close Were We To A Fincher Star Wars?

According to the report, Fincher was supposedly first approached to direct Star Wars: Episode IX when that project was in jeopardy. But eventually, JJ stepped in.

Fincher’s ties to the franchise run deep. Long before he was directing some of the best movies of our day, he was an assistant cameraman on Return of the Jedi.

And more recently, he’s maintained a close working relationship with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who earned an Oscar nomination for producing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

That made Fincher the perfect guy to come in and handle some of this IP. I mean, he was seen as a prestigious director with great casting ability that the entire world respected.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

So, What Happened?

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, Fincher was approached to direct Star Wars: Episode VII. When that didn't pan out, he was also in the running for Episode IX before J.J. Abrams ultimately returned to finish the saga.

Even after that second "no," Fincher was reportedly still interested and even had a compelling idea for a follow-up.

In order to work with the producers, he apparently is also willing to make concessions on major points, like the budget. But there was one critical sticking point he wouldn't budge on: final cut.

Now, if you're a Fincher fan at all, you know that's always been his big sticking point.

For Fincher, creative control is everything.

And for a studio like Lucasfilm, which has to protect a multi-billion-dollar, multi-generational brand, handing over final cut was too terrifying.

So, that's where this all ended.

Hollywood Flaws in a Nutshell

The Fincher saga is a perfect, high-profile example of what’s happening at Lucasfilm all the time. And also what happens across prestige brands in Hollywood, like Marvel.

They talk a big game about wanting artists to give their take on worlds, but at the end of the day, they'd be just as happy having one look and feel across many movies, so that they can always replicate them.

It's the business side of art and commerce that has basically taken over.

The problem, for us fans, is when these informal talks or even ideas for movies like Soderbergh's leaks, we can only picture the movies we didn't get.

And I think for these brands, the lack of courage to make some of these movies holds them back.

Look at what Star Wars has made since, all safe projects that all feel like they blend together in the universe. They could use something noisy.

Summing It All Up

While we can always dream of the dark, precise Star Wars film Fincher might have given us, the actual future of the franchise clearly lies on a different path.

Let us know what you think in the comments.