7 Reasons Why Zack Snyder’s 7 Samurai Star Wars Was Not Greenlit
Zack Snyder does not take “No” for an answer. The director recently revealed plans to take his failed Star Wars pitch and develop it into a unique film that exists within its own sci-fi-samurai universe. But you’re probably wondering why Lucasfilm passed on a Seven Samurai-inspired film by the acclaimed director of Watchmen and 300 to begin with, right? Same!
After some digging by the crack team of FSW interns, we’ve uncovered 7 reasons why George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy did not move forward with Snyder’s Star Wars film. Enjoy!
1
As a child, George Lucas was bitten by a neighbor’s dog named Zack. Ever since the attack, which left a scar on Lucas’ knee, the director has actively avoided doing business with anything named Zack.
2
For years, accusations of cultural appropriation have hounded Lucas with critics arguing Star Wars is just Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress set in space with laser swords. As a result, Lucas did not want to proceed with projects that were similarly inspired by Kurosawa.
3
When Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, Mouse House CEO Bob Iger put a clause in the contract stipulating that Lucas could never badmouth Disney or allow Zack Snyder to work on Star Wars, Willow or Howard the Duck.
4
At 5′ 7″, Zack Snyder was at the cutoff of Kathleen Kennedy’s height restrictions for Straight White Male Star Wars directors. However, her rules state only one director can be at any one given height at a time, and Lucasfilm was already in talks with J.J. Abrams, who is also 5′ 7″.
5
Rian Johnson used the time travel technology developed for his film Looper to go back in time and destroy Snyder’s copy of Seven Samurai on DVD. While in the past, Johnson left notes for a series of DC superhero films, which Snyder would ultimately focus on for the next decade.
6
Lucasfilm was actually very eager to work with Snyder after his elevator pitch of the film. Sadly, the screenplay he turned in was inspired more by Young Guns II than Seven Samurai.
7
Snyder wanted to create something akin to the World Between Worlds: a portal that connected different planes of existence. But in his story, the protagonist would leave the galaxy far, far away and enter a grimdark reality dubbed the “Snyderverse,” which was a bridge too far for Lucasfilm.
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