I read that too keithdaniel.

Spielberg said he is done with blockbusters/action and will stick to movies like Lincoln or War Horse. He's probably doing Robocalypse because it's a contract he signed prior to this statement.
 

As much as I like Spielberg, I don't want him to handle any Star Wars. Yes, he is a better director than George but he still is close to George and will always look upon him for approval of his own baby. Plus, Spielberg is "old". Meaning old school.

This franchise needs fresh new blood. Especially the people who sat in that theatre in 1977 and we awestruck by the original movie as kids. Guys like Abrams, Favreau, the Pixar guys, etc... These guys are the new blood.

My vote would have to go to Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9.  Granted, Nolan, PJ, Del Toro, Raimi, Favreau would all be good possibilities.  I know Neill has a new flick dropping soon, but District 9 was great and it utilized a great mix of real practical effects and CGI, and the CGI was amazing! 

Maybe even Drew Goddard could handle this well.  He's buds with Joss Whedon and just had a great directorial debut with Cabin In The Woods...again great use of practical real elements and enhancing them where needed with CGI.

 First off, nothing that even smacks of a reboot; Star Wars is too iconic, and the only way Abrams got away with it with the similarly iconic Star Trek is that it was a timey-wimey, technically-an-alternate-universe-not-a-reboot reboot.  And since it was done for Star Trek, it would be cheap to do it for Star Wars.

Second, since a reboot is off the table, Episode VII will have to take place at least three decades after Return of the Jedi, unless you're doing something completely separate and distinct that has zero involvement by any characters that appeared in the original trilogy, and I don't see how you do that; fans will want to see Luke, Leia, and/or Han.

Three, don't get hung up on the Extended Universe.  A lot of it was de-canonized by the prequels (the whole clone plotline in the Thrawn trilogy, for example), and the fact that you have to take into account three decades means a lot of it is reduced to backstory that would be ridiculously tedious to explain in a movie, so don't be afraid to ignore it.   However, also don't be afraid to mine the material for useful ideas, e.g, the idea of a long lost Imperial officer rallying what's left of the Empire could be made to work (heck, if you wanted an fairly lighthearted action flick, I think the plot from Darksaber of a gang of Hutts trying (not terribly competently) to build their own planet-cracking laser based on stolen Death Star plans would be a good one) .

Frankly, I'm strangely optimistic; a fresh set of eyes will be on this and, thanks to years of internet commentary, there are any number of pitfalls they should be able to avoid.

I've read a couple of articles about this so far and the fantasy casting has begun.  The most important thing this article outlined is something which most movie geeks know....the director matters.  There's lots of stories out there to be done in the Star Wars universe and I don't salivate as much over the Skywalker storyline as I do others.  I loved the stories behind some of the Star Wars video games, such as Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Academy.  There could be some really great animated movies and shows to come about because of this.  Although I was initially upset about the Mouse's purchase of Marvel, not much has changed in the comics and the movies have been good.  I think Disney certainly has shown the ability to appeal to the masses and still please the fanboys.  The fact is you can't do both great.

I would like to see them expand the notion that you don't have to be a Jedi or a Sith to have strong force abilities. Maybe a character that was a Jedi washout but doesn't turn wholly evil either.  A kind of Ronin a masterless Samurai who serves neither the light nor the dark. The morally grey characters are ultimately more interesting to me than the morally black and white ones.

Brad Bird...

I can only imagine the high profile directors who will be eagerly throwing their names into the mix. I'm sure it happened during the announcements of E:I-III, but Lucas' ego was too big to allow that.

I dont see any of the listed directors being able to or having the time to take on a project that would span the next 7-10 years. Spielbergo...nope....Whedon....nope. The fan vote is nothing more then a pipe dream and a good dream at that but its just something thats not going to happen. There will be no thrawn trilogy, there will be nothing taken from books or the games. It may be considered canon to most of us, but i seriously doubt lucas see's it that way and in the end its going to be up to him and Kathleen. This will be a three part trilogy that follows all previous entries. First will be character introduction, Second will be the problem, Third the resolution. Yes there is a VAST group of characters to pull from. But i doubt we will see any of them in the story line. For all we know this story could be a hundred plus years in the future. As much fun as speculation can be it also leads to disappointment when the actual story arrives because it doesnt live up to what we expected. I am going to sit back and hope for the best and enjoy another adventure into a universe i grew up loving.

With so many excellent new (and old-school) directors on the market the only real question is if Lucas' 3rd Star Wars trilogy is worth shooting or not. Personally I believe it is. To continue the Skywalker saga with Luke as the ageing Jedi Master is all I want to see for the next three installments.

I've been complaining as much as the other guy about missed oportunities with the prequels, but to narrow it down - With a story centering on a political plot which everyone already knows the ending to, the prequel trilogy was doomed from the start. The original Star Wars is at its heart an unpredictable character driven road movie and this is the route the new installments will have to take or forever be owned by the OT, just like the prequels..