Every Star Wars Director — How Each Helped Shape a Franchise

• STAR WARS (1977)
• STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)
• STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)
• STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

George Lucas is the visionary behind Star Wars. Without him, there would be no Skywalker saga, lightsaber battles or anything in a galaxy far, far away. Lucas directed four Star Wars films and crafted the mythology of that universe, just like J.R.R. Tolkien did with Middle-Earth decades before. 

Lucas didn’t know it then, but his Star Wars script would go on to become one of the most influential screenplays of all-time.   

But seeing as we’re focusing on Star Wars directors, let’s look at Lucas’s directing style. George Lucas is a director who loves big set-pieces, expressive props and putting his characters front-and-center, even in the middle of action.

Let’s look at a few different videos to see George Lucas in action. This first video shows Lucas working on the first Star Wars – which was just called Star Wars before it was later amended to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

When I think of auteur directors, my mind doesn’t immediately go to George Lucas – but I suppose it’s true that Lucas is an auteur. Lucas had his fingerprints all over Star Wars, from conception to execution. Perhaps one of Lucas’s best decisions was to hire the talented artists and technicians who went on to establish the Lucasfilm subdivision company: Industrial Light & Magic. 

ILM created some of the most iconic miniatures of all-time, like the Death Star and the Millennium Falcon. In fact, the team at ILM was so good that it became one of the most in-demand in Hollywood. They secured contracts on Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones series, the Harry Potter series, and the Pirates of the Caribbean series – just to name a few.

The point I’m trying to make is that through charisma, sheer luck, or a combination of both, Lucas surrounded himself with some of the most talented professionals in the industry.

Let’s jump ahead 22 years to pre-production of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; Lucas’s second-directed Star Wars film.

The Phantom Menace proved that hype is perhaps the greatest antagonist of any Star Wars film. Reviews at the time of the film’s release were mixed, but in the decades since, many critics have been more favorable.

There’s a moment in the documentary where Lucas discusses Ewan McGregor’s (Obi-Wan) hairstyle with a hair-designer and ponders whether there should be colors in his braids to symbolize how many years he’s been a padawan. That’s the type of attention to detail that defines Lucas’s approach to filmmaking.

I’m not one to bash on George Lucas for his work on the prequels, but Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is rough, like objectively not great. This next video looks at what went wrong with Attack of the Clones and how Lucas missed on some of his biggest ideas.

Attack of the Clones replaces a lot of the epistemological themes from The Phantom Menace and the original trilogy with a plot much more focused on politics and interpersonal relationships. I think one of the biggest reasons why Attack of the Clones floundered is because Lucas lost sight of what made his other Star Wars movies so great – complex themes combined with a clear plot.

Lucas’s third (and last) Star Wars movie was Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In honor of Revenge of the Sith, let’s watch a video that explores everything great about the film.

Revenge of the Sith marked a return to form for Lucas; which is a shame because it’s the last film he directed. If you want to learn more about the film, check out our Revenge of the Sith script teardown. 

George Lucas isn’t just famous for creating Star Wars though. Here are some of his other most iconic directorial works.

THX 1138 (1971) & AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)

Lucas directed two acclaimed features and several short films before Star Wars. His directorial feature debut THX 1138 is widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi movies of all-time. While his second feature, American Graffiti, frequently makes appearances on the lists of the best movie soundtracks. This next work shows some of Lucas’s greatest works before Star Wars.

• STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS
• STAR WARS: EPISODE IX - THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

In 2012, Disney purchased LucasFilm with a plan of making new Star Wars movies. Shortly after, the company chose J. J. Abrams to spearhead development of a new trilogy. Abrams was an obvious choice for Disney considering he had successfully rebooted the Star Trek franchise and created series like Alias and Lost.

Abrams’s first Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, marked a return-to-form for the franchise and was met with widespread praise from fans and critics.

Amongst other things, The Force Awakens received acclaim for its well-rounded cast and use of practical effects. Although the plot of the film wasn’t groundbreaking by any means, it was novel enough to keep things moving while introducing us to new characters and some long-lost friends: Chewie, C-3PO, Han Solo, Leia and Luke Skywalker.

With a production as big as The Force Awakens, the director tends to serve the role of a ship captain more than anything else. Abrams was certainly the ship captain for The Force Awakens – and he did a great job of steering the film through tumultuous waters.

J. J. Abrams also directed Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – the last film in the “Skywalker Saga” and maybe the least consequential film of all-time. For a good laugh, check out the satirical video below. 

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an incoherent mess – a point made worse by the fact that Abrams started the trilogy out so strong with The Force Awakens. If you want to learn how to avoid tropes and cliches in screenwriting, do the exact opposite of The Rise of Skywalker.

But there’s no point in harping on Abrams here considering he’s already received criticism for his co-writing and directing The Rise of Skywalker.

STAR TREK (2009) & MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III (2006)

There’s no doubt about it: J. J. Abrams is a hard-worker. Just look at his credits on IMDb – the guy has his name on dozens of projects. I think that’s a testament to his reputation in Hollywood as somebody everybody likes to work with. He just happens to be a talented director as well.

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI

Rian Johnson is a good director; which is clearly evident by his work on Brick, Breaking Bad, Looper, and Knives Out. That said, I wasn’t a big fan of his Star Wars film, The Last Jedi.

Perhaps the poor pacing, lack of character depth and seemingly random events were detriments; but rather than pile on the damage, let’s focus on one area where Rian Johnson really shined as a Star Wars director.

In this next video, we break down the blocking and staging of the “throne room” lightsaber battle in The Last Jedi.

First of all, let’s give it up to the actors, stunt doubles and choreographers who put this scene together – and for Johnson for shooting visceral action with truly minimal mise-en scene. The Last Jedi may not be my favorite Star Wars movie but it was visually-bold.

LOOPER (2012) & KNIVES OUT (2019)

Rian Johnson has directed a few good movies, but his two most famous (besides The Last Jedi), are Looper and Knives Out. Looper is a 2012 science-fiction film that stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a hitman who has to kill his future self. Wait, what?

Yeah, Looper is a pretty wild movie, but nonetheless very good.

Knives Out is perhaps Johnson’s most accessible film. Let’s watch him break down a scene from the film.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018)

You may have heard the term script doctor used before in reference to somebody who patches up scripts, but have you ever heard of a film doctor? Well, there is a precedent for film doctors in Hollywood – Stanley Kubrick was brought in to patch up production of Spartacus in 1960; ironically a year later Kubrick bowed out of production of One-Eyed Jacks forcing Marlon Brando to take over.

In June 2017, six months into production of Solo: A Star Wars Story, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired and Ron Howard was brought in to finish the film. On his first day on set, Howard was aided by George Lucas who agreed to help in an advisory role.

In the end, Lord and Miller relinquished their directorial credits to Howard and retained EP credits. Solo released to good-not-great reviews from fans and critics. Let’s watch a short featurette that brings us behind the scenes of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Although Solo wasn’t as well-received as Disney hoped it would be, critics praised Howard’s steady direction and Alden Ehrenreich’s performance as that scruffy-looking nerfherder Han Solo.

APOLLO 13 (1995), A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001), FROST/NIXON (2008)

Other than George Lucas, Ron Howard is the most accomplished filmmaker who’s directed a Star Wars movie. I think it’s fair to say that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was thrilled to have him fill in for Lord and Miller on Solo. 

Howard won two Academy Awards for his work on A Beautiful Mind and received another two nominations for Frost/Nixon. In his 40+ years in Hollywood, Ron Howard’s movies have earned more than two billion dollars at the box-office.

The Pioneer

Dave Filoni

UNTITLED STAR WARS FILM (TBD)

On “Star Wars” day 2020, Lucasfilm announced that Taika Waititi was chosen to direct and co-write a new Star Wars film with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Waititi is no stranger to the Star Wars universe – having appeared in a minor role in the first season of The Mandalorian and having directed the season one finale.

Not much else is known about Waititi’s Star Wars film and it likely won’t be released until 2023 at the earliest.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THOR: RAGNAROK & JOJO RABBIT

Waititi may only be 45 years old, but he’s already an incredibly accomplished filmmaker. In 2020, Waititi received a nomination for Best Picture for Jojo Rabbit and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In this next video, we break down motifs and directing techniques in Jojo Rabbit.

It’s clear by looking at Jojo Rabbit that Waititi is an immensely talented director. As of now, it appears his Star Wars movie is next in line to be produced – so the world will have to wait with bated breath to see the work of the next Star Wars director.

Up Next

Editing Techniques From Star Wars

Editing plays a huge role in every Star Wars film. If you want to learn how to edit like the Star Wars greats – up next we break down a few techniques for how you can cut, frame and transition with passion and purpose. By the end, you’ll know more than just the “Lucas wipe.”

Up Next: Star Wars Editing Techniques →