Before J.J. Abrams secured the sought-after 'Star Wars: Episode VII' director's chair, filmmakers across Hollywood were rumoured to be in the running, including David Fincher, the man behind 'The Fight Club' and 'The Social Network'.

Speaking to Total Film while promoting his new movie ‘Gone Girl’, Fincher confirms that he indeed met with Disney about helming the first chapter in the new 'Star Wars' saga, but that it didn't go further than that.
I talked to [producer] Kathy [Kennedy] about it, but I think that it's a different thing from... I don't know what Disney-Lucasfilm will be like," Fincher said, referencing the merger that prefaced the announcement of new 'Star Wars' films.

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Fincher also voiced his nervousness about creating a 'Star Wars' film that would satisfy the famously vocal fanbase, saying: "It's tricky. My favourite is 'The Empire Strikes Back'. If I said, 'I want to do something more like that,' then I'm sure the people paying for it would be like, 'No! You can't do that! We want it like the other one with all the creatures!'"
As an added bonus for fans, Fincher also offered an atypical, darker view of the original franchise.
I always thought of Star Wars as the story of two slaves [C-3PO and R2-D2] who go from owner to owner, witnessing their masters' folly, the ultimate folly of man... I thought it was an interesting idea in the first two, but it's kind of gone by ‘Return Of The Jedi’,” said Fincher.
‘Gone Girl’ is out in cinemas in the UK October 3. ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ premieres December 2015.