At 80 years old, Ridley Scott has somehow become more prolific than he’s ever been. His five-decade career in the film industry has gone from a movie every few years to 19 directorial credits in the 2000s alone. He’s now enjoying the release of All the Money in the World, which saw reshoots of Kevin Spacey’s leading part with Christopher Plummer in his role in just nine days. It’s a testament to Scott’s mastering of the filmmaking craft.
In the coming years, Scott is preparing to take on another Alien sequel and is developing other projects for his lengthy resume, but one of the forefathers of the gritty sci-fi film genre isn’t considering a turn at the Star Wars franchise.
In a lengthy, cuss-filled interview by Kyle Buchanon over at Vulture, Scott explained that he’s “too dangerous” for Star Wars because he knows what he wants, and he wants to be in control.
Has Kathleen Kennedy offered you a Star Wars movie?
No, no. I’m too dangerous for that.
Why is that?
Because I know what I’m doing. [Laughs.] I think they like to be in control, and I like to be in control myself. When you get a guy who’s done a low-budget movie and you suddenly give him $180 million, it makes no sense whatsoever. It’s fuckin’ stupid. You know what the reshoots cost? Millions! Millions. You can get me for my fee, which is heavy, but I’ll be under budget and on time. This is where experience does matter, it’s as simple as that! It can make you dull as dishwater, but if you’re really experienced and you know what you’re doing, it’s fucking essential. Grow into it, little by little. Start low-budget, get a little bit bigger, maybe after $20 million, you can go to $80. But don’t suddenly go to $160.
Of course, Scott would also want to throw in some Blade Runner and Alien easter eggs if he ever did helm a Star Wars movie, which would be confusing and awesome. That could be another reason why he’s never gotten an offer. “Midichlorians were created by the Weyland-Yutani corporation” probably isn’t something that would go over well at Lucasfilm.
Read the whole interview at Vulture, it’s worth it.