- Jake Kasdan is the director of box-office sensation, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."
- His father is famed screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who is know best for writing "Empire Strikes Back," Return of the Jedi," "The Force Awakens," and the upcoming "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
- Because of that, Jake admits he's not too tempted to make a "Star Wars" project and is happy being a fan.
For fans of the “Star Wars” franchise, the surname Kasdan has a lot of meaning. Lawrence Kasdan is the screenwriter behind “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi,” “The Force Awakens,” and the upcoming “Solo: A Star Wars Story” — which he shares credit with his son, Joe.
But there is also another Kasdan in the movie business: Jake. He recently directed one of the surprise box office hits in recent memory, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which along with topping the domestic box office for three straight weekends in January (and reclaiming the top spot the first weekend in February), is also the second-highest domestic grossing movie for Sony of all time.
Anyone who helms a movie that has that kind of performance will have people wondering if a “Star Wars” project is in their future. But posing the question to a Kasdan adds a level of intrigue.
Did Jake — known best previously for directing studio comedies like “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” and “Bad Teacher” — want to go and make an action/comedy with Dwayne Johnson to prove that he is worthy of working within the massive “Star Wars” saga?
Actually, no. It seems he’s fine keeping an arm’s distance from the franchise that his family has been engrained in as far back as he can remember.
“It’s not something I’m super focused on,” Jake said about directing a "Star Wars" project to Business Insider while promoting the home video release of “Jumanji” (currently available to stream and on Blu-ray/DVD March 20).
“I’m just a huge fan,” he went on to say. “There’s a part of me that feels like you relinquish that when you step behind the curtain. I love the rooting position I’ve been in with the ones that my dad and now my brother have worked on. It’s a really exciting thing to be near, without the pressure and anxiety of carrying it.”
However, Jake has some pressure of his own to deal with — he’s signed on to direct another “Jumanji” movie.
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