With Dune Part Two set for cinemas (finally) on March 1st, I’ve been wondering if it will be the end of Denis Villeneuve’s adventures on
Arrakis and it seems that it might be… for a while at least.
Based on Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi series, the movie stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya and it was expected that it would be the end of the big screen outings on the desert world with the giant sandworms but now Villeneuve’s hinting that he might be looking to have the duology a trilogy after all.
The director, who has always seen the Dune saga as his white whale, says that Dune Part Two ends on something of a cliffhanger because that is how the first 1965 book ends, making way for 1969’s Dune: Messiah: “The Dune book ends with the beginning of something that is out of control, and I thought this was a very powerful ending. I feel that both movies complete the adaptation of the book, and I feel very good about that. When people ask me, is there a world where I could do Messiah? Yes…”
A whole new batch of character posters arrive for Dune Part II
Messiah takes place 12 years after Dune, and this is something that Villeneuve is happy to stay true to: “I will respect again Frank Herbert’s idea to jump in time,” he says, “That’s what I would love to do.”
However, he isn’t really hoping to stay away for 12 years, but he would like a break before getting the sand in his shoes again: “I want to make sure that if we go back there a third time, that it’ll be worth it, and that it would make something even better than Part Two.
“It needs to be different. I don’t want to fall into dogmas. I don’t want to fall into a vocabulary that has been predefined by the first two movies. I would love to make something different. We are figuring that out right now.”
Hmmmmmmm… so he’s working on the script already? “The screenplay’s in progress,” he says, “I’m very happy where it’s going, but it’s not finished, and I don’t know how healthy it’ll be to go straight to Messiah right away. It would be healthy to do something in between.”
He adds: “There’s a dream of making a third movie, it would make absolute sense to me.”
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As for Herbert’s other novels – Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune to name a few – would Villeneuve want to do those if the occasion arose? “Dune Messiah should be the last Dune movie for me,” he says.
But would the stars want to return? Chani actress Zendaya is absolutely on board for more: “Any time Denis calls it’s a yes from me. I’m excited to see what happens. I started [reading] Messiah and I was like, ‘Woah, I’m only shooting the first movie.
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“Let me just go back to the first one.’ It’s so much to take in, but there are no better hands with better care and love for it than Denis.”
Chalamet too is on board for more Dune adventures: “The idea excites me very much. If the time and opportunity come to complete the story with Messiah, I think we’re all super enthusiastic about that.”
As for allowing other film-makers to come in an make more Dune movies down the line? “Those books are much more wild and maybe more difficult to adapt, but I’ll be there to help,” he says.
Dune might well be around for a long time to come…
Dune: Part Two opens in cinemas on March 1st.
Watch a new clip:
BREAKING: Austin Butler’s voice for Feyd-Rautha in DUNE PART TWO has been revealed
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Sources: Variety & Vanity Fair
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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