The exact moment Denis Villeneuve fell out of love with ‘Star Wars’: “We were so angry”
As somebody born in the late 1960s who always dreamed of being a filmmaker, it was inevitable that George Lucas’ Star Wars would have a monumental impact on Denis Villeneuve.
It’s a comparison the director doesn’t like being made, but it’s worth reiterating: which other auteur who specialises in blockbuster-sized entertainment that offers as much for the brain as it does the eyes, had their eyes opened to the magic of cinema, after seeing Star Wars for the first time? Christopher Nolan, of course.
Not that they were the only ones. In fact, it’s harder to think of a director who hasn’t worked with a hefty budget that hasn’t cited Lucas’ influential and transformative sci-fi as having at least some bearing on their own work. In addition to Villeneuve and Nolan, there’s Jon Favreau, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Michael Bay, and countless more.
Dune was always the film he dreamed of making, but The Empire Strikes Back directly inspired his vision for adapting Frank Herbert’s dense tome. Villeneuve envisioned his trip to Arrakis as taking the best of both worlds, and it would be fair to say it worked out that way; the two-part epic pays tribute to its source material and remains a faithful adaptation, but the shadow of Star Wars nonetheless looms large.
Despite being convinced that mounting a follow-up to another one of his personal favourites was worth it when he signed on for Blade Runner 2049, a decision that came back to haunt him when it flopped at the box office, Villeneuve has repeatedly ruled himself out from heading to a galaxy far, far away. He prefers to build his own worlds, but the exact moment he fell out of love with Star Wars may also have something to do with it.
“It went to my brain like a silver bullet. I became obsessed with Star Wars,” he admitted to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Unfortunately, his infatuation didn’t last. “The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi,” he said. “It turned out to be a comedy for kids. 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 it’s very codified.”
After waiting patiently for years to see the conclusion to the original trilogy, Villeneuve and his friends didn’t care for what they were given. “I wanted to take a cab and go to LA and talk to George Lucas,” he raged. “We were so angry! Still today, the Ewoks.” He’ll never helm one of his own, but on the plus side, Star Wars did leave its fingerprints all over the Dune duology.
