Denis Villeneuve discusses why Marvel isn’t for him

Denis Villeneuve
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Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been ruminating on why the MCU probably isn’t right for his work.

Denis Villeneuve has the hotly-anticipated Dune coming up for release next month. He’s also hoping to get moving onto the sequel pretty quickly should the first one do well. However, one project he’s not interested in is a gig with Marvel, and creating a future instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Villeneuve has been discussing the limitations of sticking to Marvel’s ‘house style’, stating that “the problem today… Well, if we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mould. Some filmmakers can add a little colour to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted.”

In a separate interview with Harper’s Bazaar, both of which were pulled together by Dark Horizons, Villeneuve was interviewed by Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, whose next release is the upcoming Marvel flick, The Eternals. 

Villeneuve was full of praise for Zhao, and seemingly confident that she’ll be able to achieve that balance between sticking to Marvel’s style and imprinting the film with her own identity, stating “I think it’s genius that Marvel approached you because you’re the radical opposite of it aesthetically. When I saw The Rider for the first time, I was blown away. I wrote a note to you – an artistic love letter. What touched me was your insane skill to be able to approach life. Life is so afraid of the camera. When I saw The Rider, I cried because I was like ‘she did it. She was able to go in that zone that I thought was not possible.’ I wonder how you can invite life in a Marvel movie.”

Whilst Villeneuve is full of praise for Zhao, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be knocking on Marvel’s door anytime soon. That’s fine though, because we like him inhabiting the space he loves best.

Dune is set to hit cinemas on October 22nd.

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