Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve says that it is a sure shot possibility that a follow-up film to ”Dune” will be made, unless the movie has ”a really bad outcome” at the box office.
Villeneuve is trying what veteran filmmaker David Lynch couldn’t do in 1984 — successfully adapt author Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 novel ”Dune”.
Lynch had famously adapted the book with his 1984 movie but it turned out to be a major misfire of his career.
Now Villeneuve is trying his hand at the novel with his movie, backed by Warner Bros and Legendary.
”There’s no such thing as ‘Dune 1’ and ‘Dune 2’. It’s ‘Dune: Part One’ and ‘Dune: Part Two’. We have been hearing in the past few decades that it’s not possible to adapt this book, and that it’s an impossible task. I think that in the back of the mind of the studio, it’s still the same.
”So the first thing was to prove that there was a beautiful, popular movie that can exist,” the filmmaker told Total Film.
Villeneuve, who previously delivered critically-acclaimed movies such as ”Prisoners”, ”Sicario”, ”Arrival” and ”Blade Runner 2049”, said the two studios are ”100 per cent” behind the project and its follow-up movie. ”They feel that it would need a really bad outcome at the box office to not have a ‘Dune: Part Two’, because they love the movie. They are proud of the movie, so they want the movie to move forward. And they still did half of it. So, you know, I’m very optimistic,” he added.
Villeneuve has directed ”Dune” from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth.
Set in the distant future, the movie follows Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.
As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence — a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential — only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Warner Bros is releasing the movie in theatres on the same day it becomes available to stream for 31 days on streaming service HBO Max.
Last year, Villeneuve had strongly expressed his displeasure over the studio’s day-and-date release plan.
During the interview, the filmmaker said he believes that it is ”ridiculous” to watch ”Dune” at a place other than a cinema hall.
”First of all, the enemy of cinema is the pandemic. That’s the thing. We understand that the cinema industry is under tremendous pressure right now. That I get,” Villeneuve said.
”(But) the way it happened, I’m still not happy. Frankly, to watch ‘Dune’ on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub. For me, it’s ridiculous. It’s a movie that has been made as a tribute to the big-screen experience,” he added.
Villeneuve said he started working on ”Dune Part 2”.
”I’m writing (Part Two) now, and I feel like I’m eight years old again. That’s very uncommon for me. It’s the first time I’ve experienced it where I’m watching one of my movies, and I have a moment of deep gratitude, of deep joy, and I say, ‘Thank you, life, for having allowed me to bring that to the screen.’ ”I don’t know how other people will feel about it. But me? Denis Villeneuve when he was 14 years old? Thank you,” the filmmaker said.
”Dune” features a star-studded ensemble cast of Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan SkarsgArd, Dave Bautista, Sharon Duncan Brewster, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.
The film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it will be screened out-of-competition on September 3.
