Shawn Levy felt “extremely empowered” when he was hired to make a Star Wars film.

While speaking to Variety for an interview published on Monday, the Deadpool 3 director opened up about developing a film in the Star Wars franchise.

“When Kathy Kennedy brought me on board to make a Star Wars movie, her central mandate to me was ‘I want a Shawn Levy movie. I want a story and a tone that reflects you and your taste and what you bring to your movies – with a Star Wars story,'” Shawn recalled. “So I have felt extremely empowered. We are in the early days, unfortunately, because the development process was abruptly paused (due to the WGA strike), but I feel very empowered to trust my instincts in the development of this story and movie.”

When asked whether his experience on the third Deadpool movie might prepare him for working within the Star Wars universe, the director responded, “The experience that I’m currently having with Marvel on Deadpool is showing me firsthand that it is indeed really possible to feel empowered and personal about making a movie within a universe that is bigger than any one film. My Deadpool movie is turning out to be exactly what Ryan (Reynolds) and I had hoped when we started off.”

He added, “So I’m going into the development of my Star Wars movie with a similar optimism, and faith that my instincts will be allowed to lead the way.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Shawn called Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren in the Star Wars universe, a “buddy” of his – but did not confirm whether the actor would appear in the upcoming movie.

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