Denis Villeneuve, the director known for films like Sicario, Arrival, and Bladerunner 2049, said he originally planned to film both Dune movies at the same time.
In an interview with Variety earlier this week, Villeneuve gave readers an inside look into the developmental process of his upcoming adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel, saying that while he wanted to film both Dune movies at the same time, he accepted the challenge of doing just the first one initially and waiting to see how it performed at the box office.
“I wanted at the beginning to do the two parts simultaneously,” Villeneuve said. “ For several reasons, it didn’t happen, and I agreed to the challenge of making part one and then wait to see if the movie rings enough enthusiasm. As I was doing the first part, I really put all my passion into it, in case it would be the only one. But I’m optimistic.”
As it stands now, the stakes for Dune to perform well at the box office are high. Villeneuve is currently penning the script for the second film, even though Warner Bros. has yet to green light it. Despite the challenge, he seems optimistic about the prospect that he’ll get the chance to finish the adaptation, and said the second film would be an “insane playground” for him.
“It’s going to be just like pure cinematic pleasure for the second part,” he continues, adding “I don’t want to speak for everybody on the team, but I will say that we really created on this movie a feeling of family and to re-unify everybody again together, that would be paradise.”
Dune is an epic science-fiction drama starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, and Jason Momoa. With the film set to premiere in just a few short weeks on HBO Max and in theaters on October 22, fans and Villeneuve alike will soon get a sense of whether a follow-up is in the cards.
