With all Star Wars news that has happened in the past few weeks, many are wondering when we will hear the final word that says, “this person will direct Star Wars: Episode VII.” It may seem like with every bit of Star Wars news that breaks we are no closer to finding out who it is, but Frank Marshall, movie producer and husband to LucasFilm’s President Kathleen Kennedy, says that the list of candidates has narrowed.

In the past few weeks Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, J.J. Abrams, and Zack Snyder have all pulled themselves out of the running to direct Episode VII. However, Jon Favreau and Colin Tervorrow have expressed enthusiasm for directing, but stopped short of saying they wanted the job. It’s not known if the director who signs on will be attached to the entire trilogy that Toy Story 3 scribe Michael Ardnt has written. With the way some of these franchise films are handled it’s not likely we will see different people directing the respective chapters of the new saga.

In an interview with MTV News, Marshall said that the search for directors has narrowed down to a couple of names. However, the producer wouldn’t go into any details as to who the candidates are. Here’s the full quote,

Surely Disney, Kennedy, and George Lucas must be considering someone who is familiar with LucasFilms and has an affinity for adventure flicks. An article written by Erik Davis says that Jurassic Park 3 and Captain America: The First Avenger director Joe Johnston should be the one to helm Episode 7. After reading the article, Davis’ argument actually makes a lot of sense. Johnston started his career working for Lucas on the original Star Wars series, so he is very familiar with the mythology. There is also a video of a roundtable where Lucas and Kennedy mention his name as one of the people they would like to see direct the film.

Johnston also has keen eye for making fantastic adventure films. Before Captain America: The First Avenger, Johnston directed films like Jumanji, The Rocketeer, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, these three films took us to worlds we never would have imagined seeing.

But enough of what makes him a great candidate to direct, where is what Johnston told the Huffington Post:

So Johnston is opened to the idea as long as “it” is a good one. He pretty much shares the same sentiment with all the directors who are interested in the job. They are opened to it, they are glad that Star Wars is coming back, and they will be happy with the person who directs it.

So will have to see if any of the three, plus a few more that may have not been mentioned, are actually being considered to direct. Of course I’m sure Disney would much rather just announce the name than give a list. We’ll update you as soon as more developments come.