David Fincher Didn’t Direct ‘The Force Awakens’ Because He Couldn’t Handle the ‘Abuse of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher’

Like a lot of other filmmakers, David Fincher almost directed a “Star Wars” movie. Long ago, before J.J. Abrams was tasked with helming “The Force Awakens,” the “Social Network” and “Seven” director was in contention to reawaken the franchise — but ultimately wasn’t interested in doing so. Among his reasons, he reveals in an Empire interview, were financial pressure and “the withering abuse of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.”

“I talked to [producer Kathleen Kennedy] about that and look, it’s a plum assignment,” Fincher says. I don’t know what’s worse: being George Lucas on the set of the first one where everyone’s going, ‘Alderaan? What the hell is this?’ Where everyone’s making fun, but I can’t imagine the kind of intestinal fortitude one has to have following up the success of these last two.”

Several directors — Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow — have been attached to the new generation of “Star Wars” films and either left or been fired from their respective projects.

“That’s a whole other level,” continues Fincher. “One is that you have to endure the withering abuse of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and the other is you have to live up to a billion or a billion-five, and that becomes its own kind of pressure.”

“You’d have to really clear your head, I think. You’d have to really be sure this is what you wanted to do because either way it’s two years of your life, 14 hours a day, seven days a week.” Listen to his full interview below.