Tim Burton is in Lyon, France, where he was awarded a prize at the Lumière Festival over the weekend. On Saturday, the day after receiving his Prix Lumière, Burton took part in a press conference where he talked about how the film industry has changed during his long career.

Among other things, Burton mentioned his complicated relationship with Walt Disney Studios, which welcomed him as an animator in the 80s but scared him away when he directed the undrawn "Dumbo" (2019).

"My story is that I started at Disney. I was hired and fired several times during my career. When I did "Dumbo" I realized that my time with Disney was over. I felt like Dumbo working in a horrible, big circus and I needed to escape. In a way, the film is autobiographical.

The filmmaker believes that the studio no longer wants to invest in creative and innovative ideas. All Disney focuses on are franchise films from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar:

- It has become very homogenous. There is less room for other things, says Burton according to Deadline.

Tim Burton began his film career with dark and quirky characters such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. He was also early on in laying the foundations for today's superhero era with two Batman films in the early 90s. In recent years, there have been several family films at Disney, including "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) and "Frankenweenie" (2012).

When asked if he would like to take the director's chair on a Marvel film, he answers hesitantly:

I can only handle one universe at a time, not a whole multi-universe.

Burton is soon to be featured in the TV series "Wednesday" on Netflix. A dark and gothic series about the Addams Family feels eerily right for the director. However, many fans are curious if there really will be a sequel to the horror comedy "Beetlejuice" (1988) - and if he is involved?

- Nothing is impossible. It's only when I'm on set that I know I'm making a film. I'm working on some ideas right now, but it's very early to say anything. We'll see how they go. Does it work as a non-response?

What is your favorite Tim Burton movie? Feel free to comment.