The Star Wars has its share of ups and downs, but ask a certain segment of fan and George Lucas’ original trilogy is flawless. But there’s another type of fan out there, and I confess to being in this camp since I was a child, that thinks the franchise got derailed early with Return of the Jedi. Stupid Ewoks ruining everything. Well, it turns out we’ve got some high-profile company: Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who feels the same way.
While appearing on a Puck podcast, Villeneuve was asked by the interviewer whether he’d like to direct a Star Wars movie someday. Given the size and scope of his Dune space dramas, a lot of fans are hoping he can set the Lucasfilm ship right. However, the interviewer was stunned when Villeneuve expressed zero interest in the idea.
After answering “No” and then being cut off by the incredulous interviewer, Villeneuve explained his answer, “I was the target audience. I was 10 years old. It went through my brain like a silver bullet. I became obsessed with ‘Star Wars.’” ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was the movie that I anticipated the most in my life. I saw the movie a billion times on screen. It’s like I was traumatized by the ‘Empire Strike Back.’”
Villeneuve continued by pointing out the universal truth that Ewoks suck.
“Listen, I adore Star Wars. That the problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with ‘Return of the Jedi. It’s a long story, but I was 15 years old, and my best friend and I wanted to take a cab, go to LA, and talk to George Lucas because we were so angry. Still today, the Ewoks—it turned out to be a comedy for kids. No, sorry [I’m not a fan of Ewoks]. I thought that ‘Star Wars’ became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic. It became like a recipe [with little] surprises. And so, I’m not dreaming of doing ‘Star Wars’ honestly because it feels like the code is very codified.”
Hey look, the guy isn’t wrong. I think there’s at least some attempt by Lucasfilm to have different flavors of Star Wars, including more mature stuff for adults. But honestly, I’d rather see Villeneuve build a sci-fi franchise to call his own.
What do you think? Is Villeneuve right? Let us know.
