Brad Bird Still Thinking About 'Incredibles 2;' Was Asked To Helm 'Star Wars Episode VII'

With each and every movie he releases, Brad Bird raises his own bar. He went from small amazing animation in The Iron Giant, to big amazing animation in The Incredibles. That was followed by transcendent animation in Ratatouille, then live action blockbuster in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. That resume puts a ton of pressure on the director not only for his next movie, the Disney themed-Tomorrowland starring George Clooney, but anything he does next.

Two projects Bird has discussed as follow-ups are a sequel to The Incredibles, something fans have been begging for since 2004, and a new Star Wars movie. The director talked about both in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, confirming he's constantly thinking about The Incredibles 2, would like to do that, and that Kathleen Kennedy ask him if he wanted to direct Star Wars Episode VII. 

The below quotes come from The Hollywood Reporter. First, The Incredibles sequel:

I have been thinking about it. People think that I have not been, but I have. Because I love those characters and love that world. I am stroking my chin and scratching my head. I have many, many elements that I think would work really well in another [Incredibles] film, and if I can get 'em to click all together, I would probably wanna do that. I like the idea of moving a little more quickly in films. I'm looking for ways to accelerate the pace a little bit and figure out a way to keep creative control over these movies to a level where I'm comfortable with the end result but also speed them up a bit and make more of them. I have many different films I wanna make. It's like a big airplane hangar and I have different projects on the floor; half-assembled in my brain. I'm interested in all of them. You kind of have to move on the ones people are willing to pay for and the ones you're most excited about.

That's much like what Andrew Stanton used to say about a sequel to Finding Nemo; then finally it clicked for Stanton. It seems like this could happen if Bird gets everything together. One thing that's not happening, however, is a Brad Bird Star Wars Episode VII:

I've known Kathy [Kennedy] for a while and I know George [Lucas]. And they did come to me. But the problem was, the schedule they had in mind made it impossible to do...unless I dropped Tomorrowland. And I was just really deeply into this film at that point. It's easy to say, "Just put it on hold." But you're moving now; you don't know if you're going to be able to move later. Maybe it's true of filmmakers like Cameron or Spielberg, but I have to act on momentum. We had reached a critical mass where it would've thrown the furniture around from the train stopping. I really want to see this movie. I love the Star Wars films, and I can't wait to see what J.J. does, but it meant I'd have to shut down one dream to participate in another. I feel like [with Tomorrowland] we're making something that's really special and unique.

The good news here is, with a new Star Wars movie every single year beginning in 2015, Bird could eventually make that dream come true.

Do you think Bird will get around to making The Incredibles 2? Are you disappointed he chose Tomorrowland over Star Wars?