Shawn Levy on the Privilege of Directing ‘Star Wars’ and Status of Project [Exclusive]

 "I have this golden ticket into a galaxy far away."

Shawn Levy is a busy man. The prolific director and producer just oversaw the release of Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, the animated continuation of his wildly successful Night at the Museum trilogy of films. If that weren't enough, he's also gearing up to begin shooting Deadpool 3 with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine, and will be directing on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things as well. He's also planning a foray into the galaxy far away.

Back in November, it was announced that Levy was in talks to direct a Star Wars film, though of course in typical Star Wars fashion, the report was light on details. But in a recent interview with Collider's Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub for the Night at the Museum animated sequel, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, Levy shared his excitement in approaching the project, 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."

As Weintraub rightly pointed out, however, the number of directors announced as being attached to Star Wars projects doesn't always add up to the number of filmmakers who get the chance to make the movies. Levy agreed with this, adding that the knowledge has shaped his approach:

"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 the 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 gets to the starting line because these are rare opportunities, and I want to make the most of it."

As for what the actual story is about? Naturally, Levy couldn't divulge much on that front. Secrecy and discretion are paramount with giant franchises like Star Wars. However, he did mention having a great working relationship with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy:

"I’ve been talking with Kathy Kennedy for awhile 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 might be in talks to direct a Star Wars story, but he is also still very much a fan. He told Weintraub that he's just started watching the recently-concluded first season of Andor, and credits Tony Gilroy for the brilliance of the series:

"I just started, and I'm told that I need to get deeper into really understand 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."

Levy's latest project, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again is streaming on Disney+ now. Check out the trailer below: