In a new interview with Variety timed to the release of a teaser for his new HBO series We Are Who We Are, Luca Guadagnino talked about his upcoming Scarface remake, as well as the planned sequel to Call Me By Your Name.

The Italian filmmaker is no stranger to remakes, having recently directed Suspiria for Amazon, and having based A Bigger Splash on the 1969 Alain Delon film La Piscine. But those who claim he only does remakes are missing the bigger picture, as Guadagnino explains.

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Image via Amazon Studios

"People claim that I do only remakes, but the truth of the matter is cinema has been remaking itself throughout its existence. It’s not because it’s a lazy way of not being able to find original stories. It’s always about looking at what certain stories say about our times."

With that in mind, Guadagnino told the trade that his Scarface remake will be "very timely."

"The first Scarface from Howard Hawkes was all about the prohibition era. Fifty years later, Oliver Stone and Brian De Palma make their version, which is so different from the Hawkes film. Both can stand on the shelf as two wonderful pieces of sculpture. Hopefully ours, forty-plus years later, will be another worthy reflection on a character who is a paradigm for our own compulsions for excess and ambition. I think my version will be very timely," said Guadagnino, offering insight into how he sees the character.

Guadagnino is a prolific filmmaker who is always juggling multiple projects at any given time. That's because he describes himself as "a relentless workaholic. I’m someone who has never tried any drugs, because I’m too scared for my own health. But I feel like when I was born, I fell on a Scarface mountain of cocaine, because I work 13 hours a day."

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Image via Sony Pictures Classics

To that end, Guadagnino continues to develop a sequel to his acclaimed drama Call Me By Your Name, which followed a summer romance between young Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

"I call it a second chapter, a new chapter, a part two or something like that," said Guadagnino. "I love those characters. I love those actors. The legacy of the movie and its reception made me feel I should continue walking the path with everybody. I’ve come up with a story and hopefully we will be able to put it on the page soon."

I'm of the mind that Call Me By Your Name ended on the perfect note, and as tempting as it may be to revisit those characters, that film should probably left alone to stand on its own. But I'm just one fan, and many others are chomping at the bit for a sequel. Of course, with production at a standstill for the most part and Guadagnino gearing up to remake Scarface, it may be a little while before we see the further adventures of Elio and Oliver.

In the meantime, Guadagnino has been keeping busy during the pandemic by watching new movies. "I saw a great movie called The Vast of Night, and I watched for the second or third time Doctor Sleep, which is a movie I admire greatly," said the director. I wasn't a big fan of either movie, but hey, to each their own. For more on the director's cut of Doctor Sleep, click here.