If there’s one thing that director Denis Villeneuve has proven, it’s that he is capable of pulling off large-scale sci-fi films better than almost any other working filmmaker. He first demonstrated that when he dipped his toes into the sci-fi genre with 2016’s Arrival and did so again a year later when he helmed Blade Runner 2049. His back-to-back efforts directing Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two have subsequently cemented his status as one of the best sci-fi artists in Hollywood right now.
Despite that, Villeneuve has no interest in ever directing an installment in Hollywood’s biggest and most prized sci-fi franchise, Star Wars. The filmmaker revealed as much during a podcast appearance on The Town when he discussed not only the life-changing impact that 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope and 1980’s Empire Strikes Back had on him as a child, but also how disappointed he was by 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. 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 [1977’s] Star Wars,” Villeneuve revealed. “The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi.”
“It’s a long story,” he continued. “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.”
According to Villeneuve, his initial negative reaction to Return of the Jedi established a disinterest in the future of the Star Wars franchise that hasn’t faded. “Star Wars became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic, it seemed like a recipe, no more surprises,” the director explained. “So I’m not dreaming of [making a Star Wars movie] because it feels like [its] code is very codified.”
Villeneuve’s comments will likely come as a disappointment to some Star Wars fans, but his reasons for not wanting to explore the series’ galaxy far, far away aren’t unfounded. The franchise has been repeatedly criticized for doing the exact thing Villeneuve mentions, which is remaining stuck in the formulas and tropes that were first established in A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. Several of Lucasfilm’s Disney-produced projects, whether it be 2016’s Rogue One, 2018’s Solo, or 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, have also notably been plagued by behind-the-scenes issues with directors.
Lucasfilm doesn’t seem, in other words, like the ideal environment for a filmmaker with as distinct of a voice or as strong of a directorial vision as Villeneuve. It may, therefore, be the best thing for everyone in the end that he doesn’t have much of an interest in even trying to step into the current Star Wars franchise machine.
