Brad Bird turned down 'Star Wars' to create 'Tomorrowland: A World Beyond'.
Brad Bird
The 57-year-old director revealed he made the "difficult" decision to pass on a chance to direct an instalment of the science fiction franchise.
He told The Independent's The New Review magazine: "It was difficult to turn down 'Star Wars'. I've loved 'Star Wars' since I saw the original, and I know George [Lucas].
"But when I was asked to direct [Episode Seven], I was working on my own idea - 'Tomorrowland'; we had a script we liked, George Clooney and Hugh Laurie had committed to it, and I didn't know whether, if we lost that momentum, we'd ever recapture it."
Meanwhile, Brad previously revealed he specifically wanted 'Tomorrowland' to focus on the positives in life, rather than focus on murderous robots and zombies.
He said: "I feel like so many directors aren't seeing the alternative and I think so many of those films don't do the future justice - while entertaining to watch - I don't want to live in those realities and I don't want robots to kill me or zombies trying to eat me."
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