The world is Barry Jenkins’ oyster, what with the Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director having just inked a first look deal with Amazon Studios. He’s currently consumed with adapting Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Underground Railroad for the studio, but he’s also got some big ideas about where he’d like to go next.
In a new interview with Vulture, Jenkins revealed that, after specializing in deeply felt tales of love, race, and sexuality, he’d like to pivot to genre. “I think now I want to grow aesthetically. I would love to do a sci-fi film,” he said, noting that he’s a fan of space-obsessed director Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve has indeed proven himself a devotee of the genre, as he’s now following the one-two punch of Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 with a two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s some-might-say unadaptable Dune.
Though it’s easy to see Jenkins’ lyrical, romantic style set against the vast mysteries of the stars, the director doesn’t seem interested in something as intimate as his previous work. “I’m friends with Ryan Coogler,” he continued, “and I look at what he did going from Fruitvale to Creed to Black Panther. And you watch Black Panther, no one else could have made that. If there was a character or a world that really suited my voice, absolutely. I love cinema of all different scales, and I would love to play on that scale some day.”
For now, however, he asserts that The Underground Railroad, for which he’ll direct all 11 episodes, is his number one priority. “That’s my destiny,” he said.
39 Comments
I would watch, say, his version of Fahrenheit 451. Couldn’t be any worse than last year’s super disappointment.
YES! He would crush a big sci-fi work. HOLLYWOOD PLEASE
Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren!
Haven’t attempted to tackle that yet, but is there a coherent story there? I have heard a lot of things about it.
I have heard excellent things about it but when I sat down to try to read it I found it kind of dull and plodding. Felt like masturbatory teenage boy apocalypse fantasy fodder. I just started reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant; it is excellent and would be well within Jenkins’ wheel house. Or something by N.K. Jemison. Or let him create his own universe.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to settle for Amazon
I loved the book Version Control. It’s more time travel than classic sci-fi, but I’d love to see his take on this.
How about a remake of The Black Hole?
Disney unfortunately shelved all their sci fi franchise reboot plans when they acquired the rights to Star Wars, because otherwise I’d be down for that.
What about Dune…but in space?
That reminds me of a story Steven E. de Souza the screenwriter for Die Hard told. At one point every next big action movie was being described as “Die Hard on a Train”, “Die Hard on a Boat”, “Die Hard on a Plane”, etc. A young screenwriter wanted Steven to look at his screenplay and described it as “Die Hard in a Building”. Just a few months ago we literally had that with “Skyscraper”.
Yeah, but in Skyscaper, the Rock just punched the building and it fell down and everyone inside died except for his wife and kids because they got inside a refrigerator.
That sounds ridiculous enough to be true. Please tell me that’s true.
You mean they fridged a woman *and* a kid?
Should have finished on Die Hard in a building. I think your last sentence undercuts the head-smacking irony of the kid’s statement.
Harlan Ellison claimed to hear a studio exec propose a version of “The Wiz…. but white!”
What about Dune…but in space and black?
Can Janelle Monáe be in it?
Goodness, yes.
I would LOVE to see him direct Janelle and Tessa Thompson as Cirocco Jones and Gaby Plauget in the John Varley Gaea trilogy.
Just read that trilogy. Definitely was not what I was expecting.
Did you like it?
Yes. But, but by the time the third book got around, it was in part reading like older SF and then the whole Gaea battle. I thought it a little bit in the “harder” SF vein. I would give the first book 3.5-4 out of 5 stars and the latter two about 3 out of 5.
BTW, if they wanted to capture some of the scenes described with those two actresses, I’d be all for it.
Holy shit. I cannot believe how bad the writing was in my previous post:What I meant was:Yes. but by the time the third book got around, it was in part like reading older SF that was less character-focused. And then there was the whole Gaea battle that was a bit silly. I thought it was going to be a more in the “harder” SF vein when I started it, and the first book is somewhat in that vein. I would give the first book 3.5-4 out of 5 stars and the latter two about 3 out of 5.
She deserves better than that maudlin Welcome to Merwen nonsense
CINDI MAYWEATHER FILM OR GTFO!!!
I humbly suggest the Tek Jansen saga.
Pa-Rum-Pum!
Give this man all the fucking money he wants.
He asked for $9 in unmarked bills.
ATTACH HIM TO A LE GUIN ADAPTATION OH GOD PLEASE
Wait no, make him re-do Wrinkle
I could see Left Hand of Darkness as a mini-series. Too much book for one movie, and too cerebral for a trilogy of movies.
Yes! Yes! A million times yes! Give him all the money he wants!
Can I humbly submit that he should tackle the Quantum Thief in all its glory? That way we can forget that “In Time” ever happened!
I would like this as well.
Still haven’t watched Arrival. But yeah its good to explore other genres imo. It helps keep things fresh, even if it doesn’t always work out. You should always explore.
N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy seems like a perfect fit for him, if he’s looking for scale and beauty in sci-fi/fantasy.