Denis Villeneuve Interested in Directing Non-Saga Star Wars Film

Fresh off of Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve says he’d be interested in directing a non-saga Star Wars film. Villeneuve has risen through the Hollywood system over the last several years to now be one of the most high-profile directors working. With a résumé that contains critical hits like Enemy, Prisoners, Sicario, and now Blade Runner 2049, he is one of the most sought after talents in the industry. He’s currently working on developing his own Dune movie, but was also in consideration for Bond 25.

The British spy franchise surely isn’t the only one calling Villeneuve to gauge his interest in other big properties. Two of the biggest universes growing currently are the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and superhero films in general), as well as Star Wars. Villeneuve may not be interested in a superhero movie, but he is interested in the possibility of expanding the Star Wars franchise beyond the Skywalkers.

Villeneuve was recently a guest on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast and was asked about his love for Star Wars and potential interest in directing a film in the galaxy far, far away. After declaring his love for A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back (and nothing favorable for any films after), he says he’d be intrigued to tackle the franchise despite the potential dangers

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.

Horowitz went on to tell Villeneuve about Rian Johnson’s recently announced trilogy that will focus on characters and a part of the galaxy that is not connected to the Skywalkers, an idea Villeneuve fully endorsed. He poked fun at the continued connective tissue to the Skywalkers and how it needs to end, and then went on to say doing something apart from the Saga films would be where his interests would lie.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.

If the opportunity presented itself, Lucasfilm would be smart to swoop up one of the biggest working directors for a Star Wars film. Whether that could come as part of Johnson’s trilogy (since he’s only writing and directing the first one) or as part of a new Star Wars Story, Villeneuve has shown the ability to produce great content on a variety of scales, so it would be incredible to see what he could do in this galaxy.

However, Villeneuve is very much interested in completing his vision of a film, and not bending to fit what others may want. Given Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy’s already contentious relationship with a few directors, a strong-willed filmmaker like Villeneuve may not be the best choice for the way Star Wars is currently operating. However, if this franchise does continue on for years to come as everyone expects, the restrictions of tone, stories, and characters could loosen, and make a Villeneuve-directed Star Wars movie more feasible. This is merely Villeneuve expressing at least some level of interest in the franchise after all, so there’s far from a guarantee it goes anywhere, but Lucasfilm may want to give him a call just in case.