Denis Villeneuve, renowned for his work on ‘Dune’, recently shared his thoughts on the ‘Star Wars’ franchise during an interview on ‘The Town’ podcast. Despite his childhood admiration for the original trilogy, he clarified that directing a ‘Star Wars’ film is not a goal for him. Villeneuve expressed that the franchise took a wrong turn with ‘Return of the Jedi’ in 1983, which he felt led to a lack of originality in the series. He reminisced about being 10 years old and captivated by ‘Star Wars’, particularly ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, which he viewed countless times. However, he believes that after ‘Return of the Jedi’, the series became too formulaic and predictable. ‘Star Wars’ is not the only iconic franchise he’s steered away from; he also dismissed the idea of directing a ‘Star Trek’ film, identifying as ‘not a Trekkie’. Instead, Villeneuve is focused on the ‘Dune’ series, currently working on an adaptation of ‘Dune Messiah’, the sequel to the original ‘Dune’ novel. He aims to create a unique vision for the third installment, which is set 12 years after the events of the first film. Villeneuve’s dedication to innovation in storytelling continues to shape his career as he navigates the complexities of aging up his young cast, including Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. His insights into the evolution of beloved franchises shed light on the challenges directors face in maintaining creativity within established narratives.
