Denis Villeneuve says he’d be interested in directing a Star Wars film.
Fresh from the critical (if not necessarily financial success) of Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve says he’d be interested in directing a Star Wars movie in the future but the offer comes with one specific caveat – that it be a standalone film, separate from the Skywalker saga.
Villeneuve recently appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy, Sad, Confused podcast and when asked about Star Wars, he had this to say;
“It’s something that, again it’s like, I would be intrigued. I don’t know, it’s very difficult. What is dangerous with Star Wars right now is it’s become its own vocabulary. I would love to see them, I think Rogue One was a very interesting attempt to get out of the mold.”
Star Wars’ main saga has been solidly built around members of the Skywalker family, but recently it’s been announced that The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson will helm a new trilogy (that will start after Episode IX) said to focus on characters and a part of the galaxy that is not connected to the main Skywalker saga to which Villeneuve commented;
“I think it would be a great idea to get out of there and to go on a new part of the galaxy, that I would be open to.”
Villeneuve, who is currently working on his version of Frank Herbert’s Dune, certainly has strong Science-Fiction credentials with the Blade Runner sequel and 2016’s Arrival on his resume but how he would fit within the seemingly tight restraint of Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy’s command remains to be seen, as it has already been responsible for the demise of other directors who have either left or been replaced on recent and upcoming Star Wars related productions.