'Star Wars' Rumor Update: Brad Bird Won't Direct

The "Star Wars" rumor mill is officially self-sustaining. Without an official word from Lucasfilm or Disney since the announce of Michael Arndt as the screenwriter for "Episode VII," there has still managed to be volumes written online about what is or is not happening in the galaxy far away. Over the weekend, three of the biggest rumors got minor updates, including who isn't directing, who might be directing, and a no-longer sure thing for the cast. Bird Out For someone the fans considered a major candidate for the "Episode VII" directing job, Brad Bird remained suspiciously quiet about the gig, while just about every other candidate publicly addressed the proposition. Bird finally broke his radio silence by responding to a series of tweets that asked him if he was indeed directing "Star Wars." "'@JoesMonster: @wearebuffaloz Is it Star Wars Episode VII? Because I really hope it's Star Wars Episode VII...' It's not Episode VII," Bird wrote on November 17. Bird maintained that he is sticking to his previous plans to direct the Damon Lindelof-penned sci-fi movie, "1952," also at Disney. Trevorrow Won't Direct Perhaps the most surprising rumored candidate for the director's chair, Colin Trevorrow, whose "Safety Not Guaranteed" supposedly was a hit with George Lucas, has now denied the talk. He too took to Twitter to address a new-ish revelation from this summer. This past summer, Trevorrow said (via Film School Rejects), "...For all those who love the mythology that I will be tackling, trust that I love it as much as you do. And I will respect it, and hopefully make it not suck." But now, Trevorrow has clarified that statement, saying he wasn't referring to "Star Wars." "To clarify, there is another film we all love that I'm currently trying not to mess up," he wrote. "Odds I will direct Episode VII: 3720 to 1." A follow-up tweet put it even more plainly. When asked if he's officially out of the running, he wrote, "That is what I am saying." Princess Leia Not A Sure Thing The return of Carrie Fisher and Leia Organa seemed temporarily confirmed when the actress responded to a question from a reader of TheForce.net. "I thought it was already common knowledge," she said, but Fisher's reps were quick to deny that confirmation, suggesting that Fisher's comments were "tongue-in-cheek." So we're still awaiting official word that Princess Leia will appear in "Episode VII."