‘Dune’ director Denis Villeneuve thinks ‘Star Wars’ was derailed decades before Disney took the reins

There’s a whole section of Star Wars fans online who believe the franchise has been going downhill since Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney in 2012, but legendary director Denis Villeneuve thinks differently. He believes it’s been stagnant for decades.

Hot off the heels of major success with his own Sci-Fi sequel, Dune 2, Villeneuve would seem adequately qualified to talk about the quality of Star Wars, especially when he is a self-admitted longtime fan.

While speaking on The Town podcast the director explained that his love for the franchise began to fall off when Return of the Jedi was released all the way back in 1983. Yes, that long ago. However, it wasn’t blind hate like what fuels some modern critics of the franchise, instead, he has his own reasons.

“The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi,” Villeneuve said. “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 [Movie] because it feels like code is very codified.”

Well, if he thought the Ewoks were used for comedic value, then we’d love to hear his thoughts on Jar Jar Binks. This reaction from Villeneuve came as a result of his love for The Empire Strikes Back, which he described as the movie he most eagerly anticipated in his life. In fact, he claims to have seen it several times on screen.

While Villenevue’s Star Wars take might not be a common one, it’s far from the only criticism leveled at the iconic sci-fi franchise. In fact, the franchise received the most criticism after The Phantom Menace dropped in 1999, and it just happens to be for similar reasons to what he criticized it for several years prior.

Despite any criticism, Star Wars still continues to be a powerhouse for Disney, and even though some of its newer shows have been met with less-than-favorable reactions from the fandom, it doesn’t seem like things will be slowing down anytime soon.

For sci-fi nerds who were hoping to see Villeneuve’s unique style used for a Star Wars story sometime soon, sadly, that won’t be happening. The silver lining is that the director also said he won’t be doing a Star Trek movie since he was “not a Trekkie,” so you can all rest easy knowing that both of these fandoms will have to live with the same fate.

A movie from the director that you can see is Dune 2 which is now available to own through iTunes and Amazon, or stream on Max right now. Alongside the sequel is the first movie, so if you’re looking for a new sci-fi franchise to dive into, then Dune is a perfect one to start today.