Despite having made his name off small independent movies, especially with the intimate and subtle Oscar-nominated film “Minari,” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung has proven with this weekend’s “Twisters” movie that he’s a versatile director and can handle blockbusters, action, and scale (read our review).
We recently had Chung on The Playlist Podcast to talk with host Charles Barfield about all things “Twisters.” But, as the show noted, the filmmaker got his feet wet and blockbuster chops ready by directing two different “Star Wars” series, “The Mandalorian” and some upcoming episodes of the forthcoming series, “Skeleton Crew” (rumored to be arriving in December).
Asked if he’d like to continue on in the “Star Wars” galaxy and direct one of Lucasfilm’s features, Chung was unequivocally a yes.
“Absolutely! Because I’m a big ‘Star Wars’ nerd,” he enthused. “I would love to do something with Lucasfilm. I do consider them friends. I feel like I’ve gotten to know many of them—the people behind the scenes.”
Chung then went on to talk about how he mixed the sound for “Twisters” at Skywalker Sound, which allowed him to get a tour through George Lucas’ archive of “Star Wars” props.
“All of this ‘Star Wars’ stuff is there, and it brought me so much delight to see it in person,” he explained. “I would like to work on anything that would bring people a lot of delight and joy. I feel like maybe that’s the best thing a filmmaker can do. So, if that’s ‘Star Wars,’ that would be amazing.”
Will it happen? Certainly, like Marvel Studios, who seems poised to elevate some of their TV directors into the feature world, potentially soon, it definitely feels like a strong possibility. Plus, Lucasfilm has already suggested they are moving away from the series format, pivoting back to films, and have already announced three upcoming features.
“Twisters” is in theaters this weekend via Universal, starting July 19, and you can listen to the full Playlist Podcast here.
