Last month, we reported that Moon director Duncan Jones was possibly moving forward with his sci-fi future noir Mute as his follow-up to his new film Source Code (which opens April 1st).  Unfortunately, that appears to no longer be the case.  Speaking to We Got This Covered, Jones says Mute "is in a bit of limbo."  He says that Mute is more of a "futurist" film than a sci-fi film since it doesn't revolve around a sci-fi hook.  For those unfamiliar with the project, the film is reportedly inspired by Blade Runner and centers on a mute bartender in 2046 Berlin who must go against the city's gangsters in order to find his girlfriend.  Jones says the film is a tough sell because it's quite dark, but the budget is in between Moon and Source Code.Hit the jump for more of what Jones had to say about Mute and another sci-fi project that might have his attention.Here's what Jones had told We Got This Covered about trying to get people to understand the tone of Mute and the challenges involved in getting it off the ground:

That was the whole idea, to tell a film that can be based in any period, but just HAPPENS to take place in the future. And it’s been very difficult to basically pitch that in a way where people understand why it needs to be done that way. People just say, why can’t it be in a contemporary setting? But no, it’s about mood and atmosphere as much as anything else. It’s also quite dark so it’s been a tough sell. Also, it’s not a big film, it has been designed to be sort of a smaller and more independent film.

Jones says that he's going to get away from Mute for a while and turn his attention to another sci-fi project.  While I'm bummed that Mute is going on the shelf, Moon was a remarkable film and I can't wait to see Source Code and anything else Jones has in store, especially if it's sci-fi.