Shawn Levy feels honorable for directing “Star Wars”  

• The animated sequel to the hugely popular Night at the Museum trilogy,
• The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will also be directed by him.
• Levy was reportedly in talks to helm a Star Wars movie back in November.

Shawn Levy leads a hectic life. The animated sequel to the hugely popular Night at the Museum trilogy, which the prolific director and producer oversaw’s recent publication of, is called Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will also be directed by him. As if that weren’t enough, he is now getting ready to start filming Deadpool 3 with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman resuming his role as Logan/Wolverine. He also has plans to travel to a distant galaxy.

Levy was reportedly in talks to helm a Star Wars movie back in November, though the claim was naturally short on specifics in keeping with Star Wars tradition. However, Levy recently discussed his enthusiasm for the project in an interview with Collider’s Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub for the animated sequel to Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, saying:

“If you had told me back when I was directing Big Fat Liar that someday I’d be working on the biggest TV show in the world and directing Marvel followed by Star Wars, I would’ve told you “You’re fucking nuts.” But it is so thrilling. And it is the kind of big canvas storytelling that I’ve always dreamed of doing.

I’ve gotten lucky because ironically it started with Night at the Museum where you’re really building a world, and you’re incorporating comedy and heart. And you and I have spoken a lot, that’s very much what I tried to do on Free Guy and Adam Project. And so to get the calls from both Marvel and Lucasfilm, really gratifying. Because I’ve done this job for a while and these are calls I definitely hoped I would someday get. And the fact that it’s all coming now and that this is the next several years of my life is really… I’m just stoked. I don’t have deeper words than that. I am happy and excited about it every day.”

However, as Weintraub correctly noted, the number of directors who have been linked to Star Wars projects hasn’t necessarily matched the number of filmmakers who have the chance to produce the films. Levy concurred, noting how the information has influenced his strategy:

“Yes. I’m very aware of the ratio of filmmakers who get to the starting line. As you know, Steve, I’m a student of business, and so, of course, I note that. But here’s my attitude: I have this golden ticket into a galaxy far away, and I’m going to devote myself to developing a screenplay that gives me the privilege of making this movie. I don’t attach to things because it looks good in a trade announcement. I attach to things that I intend to make. And you better believe I’m not going to squander this juiciest of opportunities. I’m going to work my ass off. But first, I got to work my ass off on making Deadpool. So it’s definitely longer-term planning, but I want to be one of the movies that get to the starting line because these are rare opportunities, and I want to make the most of it.”

What is the topic of the story itself? Levy couldn’t say much about that, of course. With massive franchises like Star Wars, discretion and confidentiality are essential. He did, however, remark getting along well with Kathleen Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm:

“I’ve been talking with Kathy Kennedy for a while now, and she’s been aware of my passion for this franchise for a long time. The stars finally aligned, and she came to me and was like, let’s do something here. And that’s as much as I can say. But this is definitely development and not yet close to prep. So there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Levy may be in discussions to helm a Star Wars film, but he is still a huge fan. He revealed to Weintraub that he had just begun watching the just-finished first season of Andor and gave Tony Gilroy credit for the show’s genius:

“I just started, and I’m told that I need to get deeper into really understanding its brilliance. I’m not surprised because Tony Gilroy is quite a genius and always has been. But yeah, Steve, I’ve read your opinion of it on Twitter and stuff, and I’ve heard the same thing from everyone else whose taste I trust. So I can’t wait to watch it.”

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