10 Directors Who Said NO To Star Wars
6. Denis Villenueve
Fast forward a few decades, and it was Denis Villenueve who was now sprinkling some spice into theatres with his take on Frank Herbert's Dune series.
While David Lynch's movie may not have been the biggest critical or commercial success, Villenueve's films have been celebrated as some of the greatest sci-fi pictures ever made. They've also earned a ton of money at the box office, which always helps.
It won't come as too much of a surprise to hear that the mind behind these incredible movies was quite the fan of George Lucas' space stories. However, after absolutely adoring the first two Star Wars films, Villenueve's love of the series was derailed.
When Episode VI - Return of the Jedi made its way onto the big screen, a disappointed and angry 15-year-old Denis felt that the movie was just a "comedy for kids." He'd further explain on The Town podcast (via EW) that he "thought Star Wars became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic. It became like a recipe, and there were no more surprises."
According to Villenueve, "the code feels very codified." So, despite once being a gigantic fan of all things galaxy far, far away, this world-class filmmaker is now "not dreaming to make a Star Wars, honestly."