DUNE Director Denis Villeneuve Says STAR WARS Lost Its Elegance After EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Director Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation of Dune was released over the weekend and it was one hell of an incredible film. Of course, while making the press rounds, the director had to be asked about the Star Wars franchise and how it was influenced by Frank Herbert’s Dune and how his Dune was influence by Star Wars.

The filmmaker goes on to praise The Empire Strikes Back, explaining why it’s the best Star Wars film, and says the Star Wars franchise lost its elegance after that movie. While talking to The Playlist, he said:

"There's something about 'The Empire Strikes Back,' the darkness of it, the tragic elements of it, the way I was feeling in that precise moment about 'Star Wars' — there was something really serious about it that I deeply loved. Science fiction is serious stuff for me; it's something that I love when it considers life and existence serious. That's [why] I have so much reverence for 'Blade Runner,' the original, of course, and '2001: A Space Odyssey.' When people are taking sci-fi seriously, it's so powerful.”

He goes on to explain that when he took on Dune, he wanted to capture that early Star Wars spirit:

"So, there was something in 'The Empire Strikes Back,' in its darkness, in the way it was approaching the psychological path of Luke Skywalker. And I just feel like they lost that after. They lost that elegance. And that was maybe something that I was referring to when I said, oh, I wish 'Dune' was—in a way, my idea was ... back to that [early 'Star Wars'] spirit. You must not publish that; I'm going to be crucified [laughs]. But I totally believe that. I never left 'Star Wars,' 'Star Wars' left me."

I get what he’s saying, but he should probably watch The Mandalorian, because it sounds to me like if he had watched it, he would know that series 100% captures that early spirit of Star Wars.

Villeneuve has made some amazing Sci-Fi films of his own in his career, which also include Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival. I’m sure he’s not done playing around in the sci-fi franchise, but I doubt we’ll ever see him make a Star Wars movie, which is kind of a shame, because he would give us something incredible.