Denis Villeneuve has created his own cinematic universe with Dune, and with total creative control, he has no one else to impress but the fans. Now that he has established himself as a prolific director, everything he makes from now on will be his own dominion.
Still, a previous project, albeit critically acclaimed, remains to haunt his dreams. The director felt like he touched on someone else’s property, and now he’s being followed by its shadow everywhere.
Denis Villeneuve’s Honest Thoughts About Blade Runner 2049
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve admitted he never escaped the invisible shackles that bound him while helming Ryan Gosling’s Blade Runner 2049. The original 1982 movie starring Harrison Ford and directed by Ridley Scott constantly occupied his mind.
“Blade Runner is one of my favorite films, and it’s absolutely a masterpiece. Ridley Scott is one of my favorite filmmakers, and even though he had given his blessing, it was very important for me to hear it and see it in his eyes that he was OK with me doing the movie at the time.”
The Canadian director admitted Blade Runner 2049 is one of the films that challenged him to the core, and he has no plans of returning to the franchise, let alone working on somebody else’s sandbox again.
“So 2049 was really a love letter to the first film, but it was by far one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever done, and I don’t think I will ever approach someone else’s universe again.”
Villeneuve felt a pang of regret that he decided to take that particular project over other similar movies, though at the time, he felt quite brave about it.
“I still wake up sometimes at night, saying, ‘Why did I do that?’ I’d declined a few other projects of that scale, but at the time, I said to myself, ‘It’s a crazy project, but it’s worth the risk of losing everything.’ ”
Blade Runner 2049 grossed over $267 million against a budget of $185 million. It also won Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards.
Denis Villeneuve Has No Plans To Make Blade Runner Sequel
In an interview with The Telegraph, Denis Villeneuve firmly stated he will never make another Blade Runner movie ever again. It proved to be a huge financial risk after it cost Alcon Entertainment at least $80 million due to its box office flop.
“Let’s just say it would not be a good idea for me to make a movie like that twice. When you’re working on a film you’re in a bubble, and it was only when I came out that I realized we had made a monster. I won’t do it again.”
For fans hoping to see a sequel to Villeneuve’s art house movie, a television series is currently in the works under the supervision of Jonathan van Tulleken for the first two episodes. Filming for Blade Runner 2099 is set to commence in April 2024.
Blade Runner 2049 is available to watch via Netflix.
