Denis Villeneuve is known for directing some of the best and most critically acclaimed sci-fi movies of the last two decades, but has no interest in making a Star Wars movie. The director believes that the franchise “derailed” after 1983.
What did Denis Villeneuve say about making a Star Wars movie?
Speaking during a recent appearance on The Town podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), Villeneuve brought up the iconic franchise, and said that he fell out of love of sorts with it after 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
“I was the target audience. I was 10 years old. It went to my brain like a silver bullet. I became obsessed with Star Wars,” he said. “I mean, The Empire Strikes Back is the movie that I anticipated the most in my life. I saw the movie a billion times onscreen. I was traumatized by The Empire Strikes Back. I adore Star Wars.”
Villeneuve went on to say that, to him, he believes the franchise “derailed” in 1983 following Return of the Jedi, and has since become “crystallized in its own mythology” without any room for surprises.
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“The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi,” he continued. “It’s a long story. I was 15 years old, and my best friend and I wanted to take a cab and go to L.A. and talk to George Lucas — we were so angry! Still today, the Ewoks. It turned out to be a comedy for kids. … Star Wars became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic, it seemed like a recipe, no more surprises. So I’m not dreaming to do a Star Wars because it feels like code is very codified.”
While Villeneuve doesn’t seem too keen to tackle a Star Wars movie in the future, his Dune adaptation is still going strong. Following the big success of the first two films, Villeneuve is working on a third film, Dune: Messiah, which is set to cap off the trilogy of films.
(Source: The Town)