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Tim Burton says he has no plans to craft anything within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The acclaimed director, 64, spoke about the future of his filmmaking career on Saturday during a press conference at the Lumière Festival in Lyon, France, according to Deadline.
Burton — who is known for his work on famed fantasy-horror hits like Beetlejuice and Corpse Bride — addressed the long working relationship he has had with Disney, where he started his career as an animation artist.
Noting that the studio’s main focuses right now are on the Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar franchises that Disney owns, Burton said, “It’s gotten to be very homogenized, very consolidated. There’s less room for different types of things.”
When asked if he would ever consider helming a Marvel movie, Burton said no. “I can only deal with one universe, l can’t deal with a multi-universe,” he explained.
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Burton told those in attendance at the event that he’s been “hired and fired” several times by Disney, and likely wouldn’t work with them again any time soon, given the experience he had making the company’s 2019 live-action reimagining of Dumbo.
“My history is that I started out there. I was hired and fired, like, several times throughout my career there,” he said.
“The thing about Dumbo, is that’s why I think my days with Disney are done,” Burton continued. “I realized that I was Dumbo, that I was working in this horrible big circus and I needed to escape.”
He added: “That movie is quite autobiographical at a certain level.”
Burton was honored with the Prix Lumière award at the festival on Friday, at a ceremony he told Deadline “re-energized” his love for cinema.
Previous recipients of the Prix Lumière include Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Jane Campion, to name a few.
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“That’s why this festival is so great because it’s purely about cinema, rather than business or awards or anything else,’ Burton told the outlet.
“All studio executives should be forced to come here to reinvigorate them. To remind them of why they wanted to make movies in the first place,” he continued. “It should be part of their job.”
