Ever since breaking into Hollywood, Oscar Isaac has featured in a number of blockbuster franchises, most famously in the Star Wars series as Poe Dameron. But the actor hints in a recent interview with Deadline that the days of him appearing in big-budget movies might be behind him since he wants to focus on a different kind of cinema.

"I've felt like I had been a man in a desert for many years because I've been serving these bigger films, it feels for me like a personal turning point."

Oscar Isaac appeared as the villainous mutant-God Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse, for which he had to undergo hours of arduous makeup and costuming. Things were not much better for the actor when he played Poe Dameron in Star Wars, with Isaac even publicly expressing disappointment about the direction the series was going in with Rise of Skywalker. Even when he talks about the Star Wars movies now, Isaac is careful to praise the hard work of the crew behind the movies, without referencing his issues with the franchise's storytelling.

"I enjoyed the challenge of those films and working with a very large group of incredible artists and actors, prop makers, set designers, and all that was really fun."

Of course, not every actor who works on a franchise does so out of love for the movies that came before in the series. Sometimes, a fat paycheck is all the motivation the actor needs. When Isaac was asked if he would be appearing in any future Star Wars movies, his answer was blunt and honest.

"If I need another house or something. It's not really what I set out to do. What I set out to do was to make handmade movies, and to work with people that inspire me. Paul [Schrader]'s movies, the things that he's made, it's in my DNA. I'm not alone, obviously. [For] every actor of a certain generation, those are the films that made them who they are, so that's certainly my case. It feels like for me a personal turning point and that, as far as I'm concerned, it has nothing to do with the finished product. It's the process of doing this."

After his brief stint in franchise fare, the actor is back making the kind of medium-budget movies that he personally connects with. His upcoming film, The Card Counter sees Isaac playing the role of Card Shark Willaim Tell. The movie is directed by Paul Schrader, with Martin Scorsese acting as executive producer.

The Card Counter is set to resume shooting in Mississippi from July 6 after being on hiatus since March when a minor cast member tested positive for coronavirus with five days left to shoot. Now, even though local authorities and SAG have given Schrader the green light to resume filming, the current social distancing measures make the prospect particularly challenging. The filmmaker will have to figure out how to finish the movie's filming in a safe manner that does not pose further risk to members of the cast and crew. This news comes courtesy of Deadline.