Why Steven Spielberg Has Never Directed A Star Wars Film
Renown film director Steven Spielberg had helmed many fantastic and critically acclaimed movies and franchises over the course of his storied career. These included movies such as Jaws, E.T. and the Indiana Jones franchise. Of the many movies he had a hand in, there was one particular franchise he was never involved in. I am speaking, of course, of the Star Wars saga. This was odd, in retrospect, given his close relationship with Star Wars creator George Lucas. The story behind why he never directed a Star Wars movie was both simple and complicated. As the years went on, we would slowly discover more and more details.
The truth of the matter was that Steven Spielberg, through his close associate with George Lucas, had a front row seat to the creation of Star Wars. He would offer creative input on Lucas's groundbreaking first entry in the series A New Hope in 1977. He was the one who recommended maestro composer John Williams for the Star Wars soundtrack after having worked with him on some of his early movies. Spielberg was also one of the first people to see the finished product. In return, Lucas would subsequently collaborate with Spielberg on the Indiana Jones franchise.
With the runaway success of A New Hope, and the even greater success of the his follow up chapter, The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Lucas planned for a final chapter in the series with 1983's Return of the Jedi. As it turned out, Lucas actually sought out Spielberg to direct that then final chapter in his Star Wars Saga. However, there was a serious complicating factor that ultimately prevented Spielberg from directing it. Spielberg was a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). At the time, DGA was unhappy with the fact that Lucasfilm did not use opening credits in the Star Wars movies, opting for the iconic crawling opening text instead. Consequently, DGA did not permit its members to work on the Star Wars films. As such, Spielberg was prevented from directing Return of the Jedi.
Despite the fact that Spielberg was unable to work on any of the original trilogy movies, Spielberg was not completely disassociated from Star Wars. In his 1982 blockbuster ET: The Extraterrestrial, Elliott showed off his collection of Star Wars action figures to E.T. During another scene where Elliott and E.T. were out trick-or-treating, they passed by a kid in a Yoda costume. In a nod to his friend, Lucas included a quick shot of aliens that resembled E.T. in a wide shot of the Galactic Senate in The Phantom Menace. Although Spielberg expressed interest in directing one of the prequel films, Lucas ultimately wrote and directed the entire prequel trilogy himself. However, Spielberg did step in and assist Lucas with some of the key fight scenes in the Revenge of the Sith, including Yoda's epic duel with Darth Sidious. IMDB credited him as "uncredited second unit director."
With Lucas out of the picture for the most recent sequel trilogy, one might wonder why Spielberg never directed any of those movies. The answer seemed to be that Spielberg had stated that he did not see Star Wars as his "genre." He was content nowadays to think of himself as a Star Wars fan rather than somebody who took an active role in it. As a matter of fact, Spielberg suggested J.J. Abrams for The Force Awakens. Spielberg never actually wound up in the director's chair. Instead, J.J. Abrams returned to direct the final movie in the sequel trilogy The Rise of Skywalker.
Given Spielberg's stated feelings regarding the matter of directing Star Wars movies, it seems unlikely that we will ever see him helming a Star Wars movie anytime in the future. Anything is still possible, however. As Yoda reminds us, "Always in motion the future is." As a veteran director and a fan of his buddy George's creation, Spielberg will at least continue to be a source of inspiration and support for all of the up and coming directors who will be involved with the galaxy far, far away.
Sources: Screen Rant, The Guardian, Independent