Star Wars Bits: Brad Bird Is Out, Plus Chewbacca, Lando, A Comic Book Deal, Release Date Rumor, And Colin Trevorrow Comments On His Directorial Chances

This weekend brought a ton of news and rumor on theStar Warsfront so we’ve pulled it all together in one convenient place for your speculative pleasure. After the jump, read about:

The most unfortunate piece of legitimate news over the course of the weekend is the confirmation thatBrad Bird, director ofThe IncrediblesandMission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, will not be directingStar Wars Episode VII. He was a fan favorite choice buttook to Twitterto stop the rumors:

“@ClarkGoble: tell me your next one is the new Star Wars!”

Nope. A science fiction film. Not Star Wars.

— Brad Bird (@BradBirdA113)August 21, 2025

He has more to say on the topic too – that his new film is1952, a science fiction film written by Damon Lindelof and potentially starring George Clooney, and that he is totally supportive of screenwriter Michael Ardnt and producer Kathleen Kennedy for their newStar Warsproject.

Next up,Film School Rejectsuncovered a video interviewwithSafety Not GuaranteeddirectorColin Trevorrowfrom June in which he discussed his next movie. Here’s his quote:

I can’t speak with any specificity as to what the next thing will be. There are amazing opportunities that have arisen as a result of this. One of them, I will say, will probably create a good deal of ire against me on the Internet when people find out what it is. So, I just want to say in advance that I promise you, for all those who love the mythology that I will be tackling, trust that I love it as much as you do. And I will respect it, and hopefully make it not suck.

Add that to the knowledgehe was up for directingStar Wars Episode VIIand the quote is given a whole other layer of power and intrigue. Unfortunately, hours after that story broke, Trevorrow tweeted the following:

[Note - I forgot to add those are the odds C-3P0 gave Han for successfully navigating an asteroid field. How did that turn out?]

We’ve heard from Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford (kind of) and now, the fourth lead of theStar Warsfilms has weighed in. In an interview with theHuffington Post,Peter Mayhew– who played Han Solo’s trusty wookie sidekick Chewbacca – talked at length about the franchise and whether or not he’d been approached yet but Disney or LucasFilm:

No, but I hope they will. Wookiees, and particularly Chewbacca, are base characters when telling the story ofStar Wars. It’s important that Chewie remains a part of the story. Everybody loves Chewbacca. I’m sure of it.

Last week,Billy Dee Williamsbriefly commented onthe return ofStar Wars, saying he’d be open to returning and it turns out he might be needed.Movie Holereports that a source at LucasFilm told them four old characters are definitely returning: Luke, Leia, Han and Lando. Considering Calrissian’s involvement in the Battle of Endor and rank in the Rebel Army at the end ofReturn of the Jedi, one would imagine he’d still be around in some kind of leadership role. How do you think he’ll fit in or will he?

Black Friday is approaching and for thoseStar Warsfans looking to get back in the sci-fi spirit,ComicBook.comreports thatDark Horse Comicswill sell 150 digital Star Wars comics for $100. Sick deal. More details atComicBook.com.

Finally,TheForce.nethas run a rumor thatEpisode VIIwill be out in July 2015. They acknowledge this would be odd, considering all of theStar Warsfilms came out in May and theClone Warscartoon came out in August. So while it’s possible (Maybe Disney has an inside track on other movies opening that summer, considering they already have two big ones of their own scheduled) I’d call this unlikely.Star Warsweekend is still without a film on the movie release calendar. If I was a betting man, I’d go all in on June 16, 2025. But that’s just me.

What do you think about this weekend’s Star Wars news?