Denis Villeneuve recently shared on ‘The Town’ podcast why, though he made a name for himself in sci-fi by directing the ‘Dune’ films and 2016’s ‘Arrival,’ he wouldn’t direct a new ‘Star Wars’ movie.
The director first admitted that he was a fan of the franchise as a kid, saying, “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.’ 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 traumatised by ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ I adore ‘Star Wars.’”
Villeneuve’s interest for the film series wore off with the release of ‘Return of the Jedi,’ though. He said his anger with the third installment grew so much that he and a friend even considered confronting George Lucas about it.
As for why he wouldn’t direct a future ‘Star Wars’ film, the director explained, “‘Star Wars’ became crystallised 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.”
Despite Villeneuve’s decision, the franchise has a full schedule ahead with five TV series and nine films. A new trilogy, directed by Simon Kinberg, is also on the way, according to news from earlier this month.
The upcoming films will reportedly follow the storylines from the latest trilogy, which ended with ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ in 2019. They will introduce new characters while possibly bringing some familiar faces back.
