The Empire

Adèle Haenel was originally set to star, but dropped out following disagreements with Bruno Dumont over the screenplay. "At first, I thought it looked like a lot of fun: a kind of Luke Skywalker in space. The problem is that behind this funny facade, it was a dark, sexist and racist world that was defended. The script was full of jokes about cancel culture and sexual violence. I tried to discuss it with Dumont, because I thought a dialogue was possible. I wanted to believe for the umpteenth time that it was not intentional. But it's intentional. This disregard is deliberate. Just as they make fun of the victims, of people in a situation of weakness. The intention was to make a sci-fi film with an all-white cast - and therefore a racist narrative. I didn't want to support this." She later retired from the French film industry in 2023.