After Disney confirmed the rumors that director J.J. Abrams will direct the next Star Wars film — the long-awaited Episode VII — the only sound that threatened to drown out fan boy speculation about what that installment would be is fan boy speculation over who might take over the next Star Trek film.

Mind you, Abrams already has a sequel to his incredibly successful 2009 franchise reboot in the can, so fans can at least rest easy knowing he at least made two Trek films before taking on George Lucas‘ legacy.

But assuming that he does not return to finish a Trek trilogy, Celebuzz decided to assemble a shortlist of filmmakers who might be well-suited to step into Abrams’ admittedly-enormous shoes.

Click here to launch Celebuzz’ Star Trek directors’ wish-list gallery

The choice of Abrams for Star Wars more or less confirms Hollywood’s penchant for trying to find hitmakers, and have them recreate that magic over and over again — if possible, anyway.

So for our list, we chose a cross-section of possibly obvious helmers who could do the material justice, as well as a few left-field choices who could bring the franchise some different elements — or perhaps simply emphasize certain ones that have been Trek hallmarks since the series began, but we buried beneath the muscle of blockbuster moviemaking.

So click through our gallery, watch the trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness and then let us know — who do you think would make the best director for a future Star Trek film? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

According to news released today, director J.J. Abrams will henceforth be placed in charge of every blockbuster franchise beginning with the word “Star.” Abrams has reportedly signed onboard to direct Star Wars Episode VII, a title what was until several months ago considered an unlikely sequel, at best, The Wrap reported Thursday.

The director is currently finishing up work on the sequel to his reboot of the Star Trek saga, the much-discussed, highly anticipated summer release Star Trek: Into Darkness. It was his work on this series that seemingly inspired Abrams to take himself out of contention for George Lucas’ cinematic empire as recently as November, claiming that he’d rather be in the audience as a fan than behind the camera a director.

But ever since Disney snatched up Lucasfilm in late 2012, producer Kathleen Kennedy has been aggressively courting the geek icon to take up the helm of (at least) the first of the three planned sequels. Details of the agreement are forthcoming and we expect an official announcement shortly. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see what might have turned J.J. Abrams around – aside, of course, from the millions of dollars and a place in sci-fi history.

Which, technically, he had already thanks to Star Trek. What should be interesting now is Abrams’ camp attempting to squelch the low roar of dissent from Trekfans who feel betrayed by the filmmaker’s possible move to the rival franchise.

What do you think about the news that Abrams may soon be at the helm of the Millenium Falcon? Is he a part of the rebel alliance, or the evil Empire? Sound off in the comments section below.

UPDATED 6:30 PM, January 12: Reps for director Zack Snyder have denied his involvement with a new stand-alone Star Wars film.

On Monday, Snyder’s camp reached out to The Hollywood Reporter to shoot down Vulture‘s story that Snyder was developing a Star Wars feature in the vein of Seven Samurai.

“While he is super flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars,” Snyder’s spokesperson told THR. “He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia.”

The rep went on to clarify that Snyder is absolutely not involved with either the new trilogy of films or any offshoot projects set in the Star Wars universe.

Below is the original story.

As Zack Snyder wraps up his new Superman reboot, Man of Steel, the director has set his sights on another franchise: Star Wars.

Vulture reported Monday that Snyder has quietly begun work on developing a new stand-alone Star Wars movie, based on Akira Kurosawa‘s Seven Samurai. This film will be made some time after Star Wars: Episode VII, and is rumored to take place in a post-Return of the Jedi timeline.

Story details are obviously top secret, but audiences can expect Snyder’s film to have a very lightsaber-heavy spin on Samurai‘s story, which centered on a band of ronin warriors hired to defend a village from murderous bandits. (Swap out “ronin” for “Jedi” and you have a vague idea of where the film could go…)

Snyder, who originally passed on the idea of directing Episode VII, joins writers Lawrence Kasden, Michael Arndt and Simon Kinberg as the only official names attached to the franchise’s next big-screen chapters.

This is not the first Kurosawa film to have ties to Star Wars. George Lucas has openly stated that Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress inspired A New Hope‘s “save-the-princess” storyline.

Is the Force strong with Snyder and his new Star Wars film? Weigh in below! And to tide you over, check out the trailer for Zack Snyder’s upcoming film Man of Steel.