Who Should Direct the Next ‘Star Wars’? J.J. Abrams Says Ava DuVernay

Could Ava DuVernay direct the next episode of the Star Wars franchise? It certainly seems as though that could be in the stars.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams recently sat down with Nerdist, where he sang nothing but praise for the Selma director. As a matter of fact, he said that DuVernay has his vote to be the series’ first female director.

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“She is as much a fan of genre movies, and hearing her talk not just Star Wars, but hearing her talk about those kinds of films is evidence that she would just kill it,” Abrams said. “When you look at her work in Selma, which was as well-told and as sophisticated and humane a film as I think has come out in the last decade, if she can do that story that well, there’s no question she would kill this movie.”

So can we expect to see an Ava-directed Star Wars in the near future? DuVernay is open to the idea!

“The force is strong with this one,” she tweeted in response to Abrams’ comments.