While Denis Villeneuve has talked about being inspired by Star Wars because it was one of his favorite movies as a kid, he has no desire to partner up with Lucasfilm to direct a film in the franchise.
During an interview with The Town podcast, the director of Dune said that working on a Star Wars movie is not a dream of his because Return of the Jedi derailed the franchise. That movie ruined it for him.
He explained: “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 traumatized by The Empire Strikes Back. I adore Star Wars.”
He went on to explain: “The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi. 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.”
Villeneuve goes on to argue that after Return of the Jedi, the Star Wars franchise “became crystalized 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.”
When asked about the possibility of taking on Star Trek, the director said, “I’m not a Trekkie.”
The first Star Wars movie I ever saw was Return of the Jedi. I saw it at the Drive-In movies with my parents and I was 4 years old. I still remember watching that movie and being in awe of what I was watching. That’s my experience with it, anyway.
Villeneuve doesn’t need to make a Star Wars movie as he’s been working on other big sci-fi franchises like Dune and Blade Runner. Those films that he made are awesome and I’m sure he’ll continue to make great movies that fans will enjoy.
