The 57-year-old director said he made the 'difficult' decision to pass on a chance to direct an installment of the science fiction franchise, reported Independent.
"It was difficult to turn down 'Star Wars'. I've loved 'Star Wars' since I saw the original, and I know George Lucas.
"But when I was asked to direct Episode Seven, I was working on my own idea - 'Tomorrowland'; we had a script we liked, George Clooney and Hugh Laurie had committed to it, and I didn't know whether, if we lost that momentum, we'd ever recapture it," Bird said.
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