Nordling here.
Steven Weintraub of Collider is good people. I can't speak for the veracity of his source, but I don't think he'd write about this unless he felt confident that the information was somewhat solid. 2015 is really not that far away, especially when planning a tentpole release like STAR WARS Episode VII, and I'd honestly be a little surprised if we didn't have some good indication of who the director of the next Episode would be by at least March of next year (and likely much sooner). So when Steven says, a la Collider, that:
I’m hearing that Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake, and X-Men: First Class, is in talks with Lucasfilm to helm Star Wars: Episode VII. My sources tell me this is the main reason he dropped out of the X-Men sequel (which Bryan Singer is now directing).
then I'm inclined to think that somewhere in Lucasfilm Studios, the name's been thrown around a bit.
Steve goes on to say that this may well have been the reason that Vaughn dropped out of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. However, Matthew Vaughn has dropped out of projects before, including THOR, and it could be pure conjecture as to why he left this time. Perhaps he felt stifled under Tom Rothman with FIRST CLASS and didn't feel inclined to repeat that stress (although Rothman is gone at Fox now). STAR WARS is a hell of a carrot to dangle in front of any director right now, and as it becomes obvious that this deal has been in the works for a while, Kathleen Kennedy and Disney may already have decided who they want. Again, more conjecture and rumor, but Vaughn sounds like a name that would at least be suggested.
As far as Vaughn's skills as a director go, STAR WARS would seem to be a decent fit for the man. He's tackled fantasy before and he also knows how to give the material the "grit" that STAR WARS fans may want. There certainly would be worse directors out there helming this material. What do you think? Would this be a good choice for the franchise?
