Star Wars was one of the most important films to Denis Villeneuve. However, his opinion was changed after 1983’s Return of the Jedi.
Appearing on The Town podcast, the Dune director said, “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 Star Wars,” he continued.
The Canadian filmmaker added, “The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi. “It’s a long story. 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. … Star Wars became crystallized 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 code is very codified,” Denis concluded.
