Mission: Impossible Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie Reconsiders His Stance on Directing a Star Wars Movie

Mission: Impossible writer-director Christopher McQuarrie suggests he's open to one day helming a Star Wars movie after saying online discourse surrounding Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi "cured" him of ever wanting to direct a movie set in a galaxy far, far away. McQuarrie provided uncredited script work on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the filmmaker — whose screenwriting credits include Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow and Top Gun: Maverick — has reconsidered fandom fare as he readies Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, due out in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Responding to a fan who tweeted they want to see McQuarrie eventually direct a Star Wars movie, McQuarrie replied, "They know where to find me."

In June 2018, when replying to a lengthy Twitter thread involving Johnson, McQuarrie tweeted to Johnson, "My friend, After five minutes of this, I don't know why you're still on Twitter. I would have loved to make a Star Wars film someday. I'm cured."

The conversation also prompted McQuarrie to say he's "good" when asked if he would ever consider directing a superhero movie. "It saddens me, too. I consider myself first and foremost an entertainer. I work for the audience," he wrote. "Tonight I found people I could never work for."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens writer-director J.J. Abrams, who returns for The Rise of Skywalker, recently addressed the fervor surrounding Star Wars during an appearance on Popcorn with Peter Travers:

"You can't look at fans of Star Wars as an adversary. They're passionate, and certainly can be contentious, but the fact they care — I feel like I, as a Star Wars fan, understand that love for the series," Abrams said. "So I feel blessed to be involved in something that matters so much to so many people."

When asked if he pays mind to negative online commentary, Abrams said it was part of the process of franchise filmmaking.

"Here's how I feel. Every time I read something where someone is unsupportive — which is a kind way of saying 'brutal' — I kind of go, 'Well, they've got a point.' And whenever I read someone saying, 'Oh, he's the greatest,' I'm like, 'They don't know what they're talking about,'" he said. "I always feel like I sympathize with the people who have the sort of more negative things to say," he added. "So it's not a pleasant thing to ever read something that's negative, but I also feel like spirited debate is not a bad thing, and certainly, you can find some of that online."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens Dec. 20.