Flynn remaining onboard as creator, executive producer and showrunner. Along with Videosyncrazy and Utopia, the third series in the HBO deal, Shakedown a 50s-set noir series, was also halted. Jobs Fincher entered early talks to direct a biopic about Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs in February 2014. However he would bow out in April over contractual disputes. Star Wars sequels In September 2014, Fincher revealed that he had discussed with Kathleen Kennedy a possible directing gig for Star Wars: Episode VII. His idea was to make it like The Empire Strikes Back, his favorite in the series, and that he saw the series as "the story of two slaves [ C-3PO and R2-D2 ] who go from owner to owner, witnessing their masters' folly, the ultimate folly of man." In a later interview with Empire, Fincher mentioned being offered to direct Episode IX, but turning it down as he found that he was not interested in "franchise filmmaking" due to the pressure of it all. Strangers on a Train It was reported in January 2015 that Fincher was to re-team with Gone Girl actor Ben Affleck and screenwriter Gillian Flynn on a modern update of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film for Warner Bros. In a July 2015 interview, Flynn remarked all three individuals were "overcommitted" at the time. World War Z 2 Fincher was hired to direct the sequel to 2013's World War Z in June 2017, with filming set to begin in June 2019. Paramount Pictures cancelled the project in February 2019. A cited reason for the cancellation was China imposing a ban on films featuring zombies and ghosts. References Fincher David