Denis Villeneuve is one of the most thoughtful directors of our time. He takes incredibly mind-bending concepts and interprets them in a nuanced, humane, and intimate manner. Around the world, he’s well known for making the Dune movies, his take on Frank Herbert’s story. While widely thought unfilmable, Villeneuve brought Herbert’s world to life in the most authentic way, be it the worm ride or the different planets with unusually vivid imagery.
But before Villeneuve made the Dune franchise, he made numerous movies that had a similar impact on the audience, like Blade Runner 2049. Among them is Arrival, a feature based on Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang. With Villeneuve at the helm, Eric Heisserer’s screenplay moves away from typical alien-invasion action tropes to offer a deeply moving, intellectual exploration of communication, global unity, and the human perception of time in Arrival. Starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, the plot is pretty straightforward; when 12 monolithic spacecraft simultaneously touch down at different locations on Earth, panic ensues, and the US military recruits linguist Louise Banks (Adams). Banks and her team race against time to decode the extraterrestrial language while global panic pushes nations toward war. Despite a world-ending terror, the movie draws your attention toward Banks, who goes through vivid, overwhelming “flashbacks” while trying to understand the alien language.
The themes of communication, grief, determination, free will, and choosing a life even when you know what is in store for you resonated with fans worldwide. It earned $203 million on a $47 million budget and further got critical acclaim and fans’ love. It further bagged several accolades and eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Arrival Is Gathering Streaming Approval
A decade later, fans still love to revisit the sci-fi drama, and their love is reflected on streaming charts. Arrival is at the 5th spot on Apple TV’s domestic streaming charts. The feature stands tall among films like Apple original The Dink, Matt Damon’s The Bourne Identity, Brad Pitt’s F1, and The Martian, among others. Villeneuve is currently busy with Dune: Part Three, which will bring the Timothée Chalamet-led franchise to a close. Next, he’ll be at the helm of the James Bond franchise, which should announce the next Bond soon. However, no further details about the project have been revealed.
Meanwhile, check out Arrival on Apple TV and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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Release Date
November 11, 2016
Runtime
116 minutes
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Director
Denis Villeneuve
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Writers
Eric Heisserer
Producers
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Aaron Ryder, David Linde, Karen Lunder, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen
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