Guillermo del Toro is too busy to direct 'Star Wars Episode VII'.

The 'Pan's Labyrinth' director has confirmed he was approached to tackle the new installment of the sci-fi franchise and though he was flattered by the offer, he didn't have the time to take on the project.

He told The Playlist: ''We got one phone call to my agent saying, 'Is Guillermo interested?' And basically I have so much stuff already of my own, and I'm pursuing stuff that I'm generating already...

''It was very flattering. It was just a phone call, it didn't go past that, it was very nice to be asked, but believe it or not, I'm busy enough.''

The 'Pacific Rim' filmmaker thinks 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' director Brad Bird would be the perfect choice to direct the movie.

He said: ''I think the fans deserve somebody that is just going to immerse themselves completely. As a geek, I would have loved to see Brad Bird take it.''

However, Brad has already ruled himself out of the running. In a Twitter chat recently, he was asked if he would direct the film next and said: ''Nope, a science fiction film. Not Star Wars. It's not Episode VII. (sic)''

When fans added he would be the perfect person to work on it, he said: ''Thanks. But the science fiction film I AM doing is gonna be good (sic)''.

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