While he seemingly accomplished a feat few filmmakers have ever succeeded in Don To the big screen, director Denis Villeneuve believes Blade Runner 2049 Could have potentially been a much more devastating blow to his career if it failed. Having made his name with features included Sicario And ArrivalVilleneuve brought Frank Herbert’s influential sci-fi novel to the screen with a two-part adaptation released in 2021 and 2024 respectively. While Villeneuve is set to close his tenure on Arakkis with a Dunn: Christ Adaptation, he is also set to explore the life of Cleopatra in a historical drama.
During a recent BFI London Film Festival panel (per The Hollywood Reporter), Villeneuve explained that one movie he had made before Don made him more afraid than to live in Herbert’s world, That being Blade Runner 2049. After he had to build himself up to feel that he was ready to tackle the sci-fi drama, Villeneuve decided that the risk would be worth it, because he would be both pushing himself further but would at least be able to end his movie making career on A personal high note:
In the past, I turned down a few sci-fi films, big films, because I wasn’t greedy… but still secret, I felt that I had the muscles to be able to manage a project like that [Blade Runner 2049]. I said, “Okay, if I do one big sci-fi movie, and I risk everything, that’s fine. Making a sequel to my favorite film is a fine way to end my career.” I thought it was very romantic.
Moreover, Villeneuve also admitted that He could have learned about the development of the project earlier than he could haveHaving inadvertently witnessed the meeting to produce the sequel, and also went on to recall why he was ultimately chosen over Ridley Scott directing it himself:
When I was doing prisonersOne day [execs] stopped the meetings and said, “Sorry. Ridley Scott is in the next room. We’re not supposed to tell you, but we’re doing the sequel to Blade Runner“I said, “Wow.” Then, when I was doing SicarioI got a call… Ridley is the most prolific, over-busy director. And when I direct one movie, Ridley does three things. I think that Harrison Ford was tired of waiting.
Other directors face similar fears
For many film enthusiasts knowledgeable about the development of Blade Runner 2049It may be unsurprising why the movie was such an ordeal for Villeneuve. While the director shared his concerns about the project in 2020, two other potential directors with incredible prestige have already passed on the project.
When development began on the project, Christopher Nolan was named as the original filmmaker intended to helm the sequelAlthough these Oppenheimer The director said that he never intended to direct the feature in 2020. Moreover, even the original movie’s director Ridley Scott signed up to direct. Blade Runner 2049 In 2011, but would leave the project to work on Alien: Covenant. As such, Villeneuve is taking on a task even experienced filmmakers have struggled with.
Our thoughts on the successes of Villeneuve’s filmography
The director has succeeded where others have failed
Before Villeneuve don’s release, few had any faith that an adaptation could properly translate the novel to screen. since 1971, Various filmmakers have made their own attempts to bring the story to lifeFrom Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ambitious 1970s attempt to David Lynch’s now-cult-classic movie 1984, several miniseries, and smaller scrapped attempts. Moreover, the director has to face uncertainty that Dunn: Part Two Would even be produced with complications caused by changing release strategies to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Still, even with Blade Runner 2049 Falling short financially, both it and Don are clear successes in the long term. Blade Runner Will expand with a new series, and Don is breaking the taboo of past adaptations and goes beyond Paul Atriedes’ promotion. As such, Villeneuve has cemented himself as a powerful voice in modern Hollywood, proving that he is capable of taking on even the most daunting of tasks.
Source: THR