At Least Two ‘Dune’ Films Are Being Planned By Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuveis in the sci-fi community’s good graces after tackling the behemoth that wasBlade Runner 2049with elegance and nuance. For his next project, the French-Canadian director has long set his sights on an even more daunting project:Dune.
First brought to the big screen byDavid Lynchin 1984’s poorly received adaptation, Frank Herbert’s novel is considered one of the greatest works of science-fiction, and one that is essentially unfilmable. But the Villeneuve Dune remake may have a solution to that.
While speaking at the Montreal’s Place des Arts' Théâtre Maisonneuve for theRendez-Vous du Cinema Quebecoisthis week, Villeneuve gave an update on hisDuneremake (viaThe Playlist):
“Dunewill probably take two years to make. The goal is to make two films, maybe more.”
Fans of Herbert’s novel can breathe a sigh of relief. The 1965 novel is a famously dense work of fiction filled with political, scientific, and social themes that any director would have trouble condensing into a two-hour film. The Playlist notes that the book also features a significant time jump, which would make an ideal place to split the story — similar to Warner Bros. and theItadaptation.
Indeed, lengthy sci-fi films may just be Villeneuve’s style. His originalBlade Runner 2049cut came in at four hours long, and the director even flirted with the idea of cutting the film into two parts.
Dune’s book sequels are equally dense, expanding the world introduced inDuneand spanning generations. It’s unclear whether Villeneuve will adapt the entireDunefranchise, or stick solely to the original novel. But if he does, this franchise could end up stretching over 10 films!
There’s little known otherwise about Villeneuve’s adaptation — other than his polarizing comments that hisDunewill be a “Star Warsfor adults” — as the film is still in the early stages of development.
Dunehas long been apassion project of Villeneuve’s. The director has been working on the film adaptation for more than a year, with screenwriterEric Roth boarding the projectlast spring.
Villeneuve will be the latest director to attempt to bringDuneto life. Lynch’s 1984 feature film starring Kyle MacLachlan is an infamous blip on the prestigious director’s career, and a highly ambitious adaptation by avant-garde director Alejandro Jodorowsky only spawned afascinating documentaryabout how it failed. SyFy also produced a popular miniseries calledFrank Herbert’s Dunein 2000 and a 2003 sequelFrank Herbert’s Children of Dune.
