Duncan Jones Stalled on ‘Mute’, Working on Other ‘Blade Runner’-Inspired Film

Right up there is a piece of concept art from Mute, the movie that filmmaker Duncan Jones has been trying to get made for almost to two years.  Even having the acclaimed Moon and with the terrific-looking Source Code under his belt, his dream project Mute seems to constantly evade him.  Described by the man himself as being heavily inspired Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, the ambition of it likely exceeds his past work.  It tells the story of a mute bartender who looks for his girlfriend being held captive by gangsters, all of which is set in a futuristic Berlin.  We’ve heard about it for quite some time, and if the story from WeGotThisCovered is to be believed, this won’t be changing soon. 

We reported about a month ago that he was choosing between two projects after Source Code’s release, the first being Mute and the second something we had previously not heard of.  It’s looking like that latter project is what’s next for him, as it’s once again been put into, in the words of the director, a state of limbo. 

His quote on the new film can be found below:

“Well it’s in a bit of a limbo actually.  I’ve always loved the script and felt it was a film worth making, but it’s a tricky one.  It’s a sci-fi film, and one of the drafts of the scripts got leaked a while back.  The reaction was mixed.  Most people didn’t get the fact that yes it is sci-fi but it’s a futurist film.  It’s a thriller that happens to take place in the future, it’s not some amazing piece of technology that ya know the world is depending upon and the whole story revolves around some particular piece of technology or some sci-fi hook. 

That was the whole idea, to tell a film that can be based in any period, but just HAPPENS to take place in the future.  And it’s been very difficult to basically pitch that in a way where people understand why it needs to be done that way.  People just say, why can’t it be in a contemporary setting?  But no, it’s about mood and atmosphere as much as anything else.  It’s also quite dark so it’s been a tough sell.  Also, it’s not a big film, it has been designed to be sort of a smaller and more independent film.  Budget wise, it’s in between Moon and Source Code. 

I just need to get away from it for a while.  I’ll come back to it one day and hopefully it’ll work the way I see it working.  In the meantime, I have another project that I’m very excited about.  It will address what people expect from sci-fi films but still does what I want it to do, and still has the heart and energy that I’d wanna see in a sci-fi film.” 

I found myself kind of disheartened by these comments, if for no other reason than the fact that we have to wait even longer to get this made.  I’m already a great admirer of his work, and if he needs to keep working to get the film out there, fine, but I want it to happen soon.  But the worst part about this is the fact that his comments make him sound like a guy who really gets what makes great sci-fi; not big effects or space battles, but real characters in real situations, which just happen to be in a futuristic/scientific setting.