5 Years Ago, a Divisive Director Made an Underrated Space Epic — And Rewrote History

— Universal Pictures

Coming off the release of La La Land in 2016, it didn’t look like anything could slow down director Damien Chazelle. The filmmaker had been christened by critics, casual moviegoers, and his peers as one of the directors of his generation. Even the great William Friedkin deemed him “the future of American cinema.”