Brad Bird talks about why he chose Tomorrowland over Star Wars

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

In the early days of STAR WARS: EPISODE VII when we had no director, there was a lot of talk about Brad Bird taking the reigns and for good reason. Having directed some of the best Pixar films in THE INCREDIBLES and RATATOUILLE and one hell of a popcorn flick in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL, Brad Bird had worked with Disney and was also a fan favorite. Alas, it was not meant to be as he had decided to stick with TOMORROWLAND rather than venture to a galaxy far, far away. The reasoning for that is apparent in a recent interview with MTV.

Here's what Brad Bird had to say:

We were already deeply into [TOMORROWLAND] and George [Clooney] had committed to it and we were down the road a bit and for a moment there, I thought that it would work out to do this and go right into [STAR WARS]. It was supposed to be summer of next coming year and there was no way to make that schedule and give this film the attention that it deserved. I had to step away, and I know [STAR WARS is] going to be terrific and everything but I'm really happy to do this film. Also, it's rare to do a film of [this] size that's original and those opportunities can't be missed either.

So, it seems as if things were a little too far along over in TOMORROWLAND, and Bird admirably decided not to "abandon" the project and stick to what he set out to do. I don't think many would have blamed him had he walked away, but I know TOMORROWLAND will be that much better because he didn't. The recent teaser did exactly that, and I look forward to what wonders the film will have in store come the summer of next year. And who knows? Maybe Bird will be involved with a different Star Wars flick down the road.

TOMORROWLAND will hit theaters on May 22, 2015.