The blockbuster auteur, who is set to receive the Visionary Award at our 2024 event, tells IndieWire why he sees science fiction as a vessel for hope.

Honestly, most of us are just grown children, even Award-winning directors. On a recent episode of The Town podcast, Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve allows his intrusive thoughts to win when he explains how his childhood disappointment in Return of the Jedi is still preventing him from ever directing a Star Wars movie,

If there’s one thing that director Denis Villeneuve has proven, it’s that he is capable of pulling off large-scale sci-fi films better than almost any other working filmmaker. He first demonstrated that when he dipped his toes into the sci-fi genre with 2016’s Arrival and did so again a year later when he helmed Blade Runner 2049.

Denis Villeneuve has revealed why he would never write or direct a Star Wars film. In a podcast appearance, the celebrated filmmaker explained that he believes the franchise got derailed in 1983 with the Richard Marquand-directed Return of the Jedi.

Few directors have captured my imagination in recent years like Denis Villeneuve. The visionary filmmaker has brought stunning worlds to life and imbued them with heart and passion. Arrival gave me hope for humanity.

Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve explains his thought process behind why he'd never direct a Star Wars project.

Yes, the "Dune" director hated Ewoks that much. "It became like a recipe, and there were no more surprises," he says.

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was born in 1967; his filmography also includes plenty of forays into the futuristic and extraterrestrial. (Plus whatever you’d like to classify Enemy as.) Knowing his age and penchant for ambitious science fiction,