'Dune 2' director drops toughest project name in career

Denis Villeneuve, popularly known for Dune, has another ambitious project on his resume that he said was so challenging that he still couldn't sleep at night.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Canadian filmmaker said the 2017 Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to a 1982 sci-fi film, was his toughest project.

"Blade Runner is one of my favorite films, and it's absolutely a masterpiece," he acknowledged.

"Ridley Scott is one of my favorite filmmakers, and even though he had given his blessing, it was very important for me to hear it and see it in his eyes that he was okay with me doing the movie at the time," he continued.

"But I was constantly thinking about the original film as I was making Blade Runner 2049. It was impossible not to."

Expressing fondness for the project, Denis said it was an ode to the original film, but the film was also his most difficult.

"2049 was really a love letter to the first film, but it was by far one of the most difficult projects I've ever done, and I don't think I will ever approach someone else's universe again," he noted.

Adding, "I still wake up sometimes at night, saying, 'Why did I do that?' I'd declined a few other projects of that scale, but at the time, I said to myself, 'It's a crazy project, but it's worth the risk of losing everything.'"