Matthew Vaughn accidentally 'confirmed' as new Star Wars director
Speaking at the premiere of Seven Psychopaths, the actor Jason Flemyng appears to inadvertently end weeks of speculation about the identity of the director who will take over George Lucas's franchise
Was this the moment Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Jason Flemyng accidentally let slip that his old pal Matthew Vaughn has been hired as the new director of Star Wars?
Vaughn has been tipped to take on the first film in Disney's new trilogy, which follows the studio's acquisition of LucasFilm and all rights to the long-running space opera for $4.05bn earlier this month, after Brad Bird, Steven Spielberg and Star Trek's JJ Abrams all ruled themselves out. Flemyng, who appeared in Vaughn's comic book reboot X-Men: First Class, last year, was speaking at the UK premiere of his new film Seven Psychopaths.
Asked by film site Hey U Guys if he had spoken to Vaughn about Star Wars, Flemyng said: "Me and Matt have done nine films together, so I'm sure I'll get the call for Star Wars." He then appears (from 40 seconds in) to realise he's said too much.
Speculation over Vaughn's appointment has been fuelled by the fact that the Kick Ass director unexpectedly pulled out of shooting upcoming X-Men sequel Days of Future Past in October.Disney has confirmed that the Oscar-winning writer of Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3, Michael Arndt, will be the screenwriter for Star Wars: Episode VII, which is due in 2015. The stars of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) have all been tipped to return to the series.
'Star Wars' producer Rick McCallum officially leaving Lucasfilm
Producer Rick McCallum — who was instrumental in the resurrection of the Star Wars franchise, from the “Special Edition” re-releases of the first trilogy to the prequel trilogy Star Wars films — is leaving Lucasfilm to pursue producing independent films. The announcement, made on StarWars.com, comes a month after the bombshell news that Disney is purchasing Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with veteran Hollywood producer Kathleen Kennedy taking the helm of the Star Wars franchise as executive producer of a planned sequel trilogy.
“There’s only person in the world who could do this, and that’s Kathleen Kennedy,” McCallum said in the announcement. “There’s no one more suited who is able to bridge the worlds of elite filmmaking within a studio context. The Star Wars saga will always be taken care of under her leadership. She is truly one of the greatest producers in America as well as being a great friend.”
McCallum first joined the Lucasfilm fold as the producer of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which aired on ABC from 1992 to 1993, and the ill-fated madcap period comedy Radioland Murders in 1994.
“No matter how impossible I made the task, Rick was able to overcome the challenges,” George Lucas said in the announcement. “In addition to putting together great crews and working miracles with the budget, he was instrumental in helping push filmmaking into the 21st century. He has a larger-than-life personality and made this amazing 20-year journey with him a fun one.”
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