Movies
‘Dune’ director says ‘no’ to directing ‘Star Wars’: “I wanted to talk to George Lucas — we were so angry!"
The filmmaker says the saga became a comedy for kids in ‘Return of the Jedi’.
Denis Villeneuve is not in the mood to direct a ‘Star Wars’ film. The director of ‘Blade Runner 2049′, ‘Dune: Part 1′ and ‘Dune: Part 2′ was a fan of the saga until ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, but then he jumped ship. He said this in an interview with The Town Podcast, where he revealed that he was very disappointed with ‘Return of the Jedi’, which he considers to be “a comedy for kids.” For the filmmaker, the galactic saga has become so wrapped up in its mythology that it no longer surprises.
“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 asserts. 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’.” But things went wrong with the finale of the trilogy, a film that some fans have disowned since its release. The Ewoks, the mischievous little wild creatures from the moon of Endor, have been the subject of criticism, and Villeneuve can’t stand them either.
A comedy for kids
“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. … 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.”
After the first two ‘Dune’ films, the director is working on the third installment, the script for which is not yet finished.
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