/Film has reported that Jeff Sneider of The Wrap has heard that Michelle MacLaren, director of episodes of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad, has talked to Lucasfilm about directing the second Star Wars Anthology film. MacLaren would be replacing Josh Trank, who recently departed the film that is set to debut in 2018.
Image from comicvine.com
Never having watched any of the shows that MacLaren has worked on (I know, I know), I have nothing personal, good or bad, to say of her skill as a director. However, I do know that all three of those shows are extremely popular and critically acclaimed dramas; Breaking Bad has won two Emmys, and MacLaren herself shared an OFTA award for Best Direction in a Drama Series with the team behind The Walking Dead. She undoubtedly has some outstanding credentials regarding her experience working in television.
The new Wonder Woman, portrayed by Gal Gadot
But, as Peter Sciretta of /Film points out, MacLaren has never directed a full-length feature film. She was, at one time, set to direct the upcoming Wonder Woman movie for Warner Bros., but she eventually left the project, reportedly because of “creative differences.” Additionally, a source of Variety’s claimed that she had “struggled to adapt to the longer, more intense development process for movies.” This, combined with her inexperience directing large action scenes, may have contributed to her departure from Wonder Woman.
The question is, then, how would MacLaren fare directing a Star Wars movie? If she struggled with a movie about a comic book heroine, she may find Star Wars, one of the biggest, most beloved franchises in the world, even more challenging. On the other hand, Lucasfilm seems interested in bringing in newer talent to work on their Anthology films, so Star Wars may be the perfect practice field for MacLaren to develop her film-directing prowess.
Other directors rumored to be vying for the directorship of the second Anthology film are Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef) and Matthew Vaugn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class). It is rumored that the film will feature Boba Fett and Han Solo.
As always, stay tuned to Dork Side for further developments.