At Least 2 More 'Dune' Films Will Be Released, Denis Villeneuve Says
The 1984 American epic sci-fi film Dune is getting a follow-up soon, this time with the Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve as the director.
Now that the critically-acclaimed director is done with Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve teased that he is going to do an adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert film not only once but twice. The Arrival director said that the revival of Dune could take two years to accomplish.
The 50-year-old filmmaker confirmed the news in Rendez-Vous du Cinema Quebecois, where he said that there will more than one Dune film as expected.
"Dune will probably take two years to make," Villeneuve said. "The goal is to make two films, maybe more."
Talks of doing another version of Dune started in 2016. Villeneuve was immediately shortlisted as the director and Herbert's son officially approved the decision.
Brand New Version
Villeneuve did not share further details about the film, but rumor has it that the two-part Dune film is to accommodate Herbert's 400-page long story.
David Lynch's 1984 version of the movie ran for more than two hours, but it was not enough to tell the entire story. Other film companies such as Warner Bros also produced other movies with two parts like It.
Villeneuve teased that the same plan could apply to Blade Runner 2049, where the original cut is four hours straight. He added that Dune is a movie that he wanted to make since he was a child, but he said that the upcoming film would be different than that of Lynch's.
In an interview in November 2016, Villeneuve said that he respected Lynch being one of the most celebrated filmmakers today. Villeneuve's take on the director's 1984 of Herbert's masterpiece is that it has strong portrayal qualities.
Villeneuve followed up that he will not reference any Lynch's style. Instead, he will refer to the original book and use the images he got while reading it.
"But when I saw his adaptation, I was impressed, but it was not what I had dreamed of, so I'm trying to make the adaptation of my dreams. It will not have any link with the David Lynch movie. I'm going back to the book, and going to the images that came out when I read it," Villeneuve said.
No casting details and release dates are available as of yet. Eric Roth is writing the screenplay for the film. He also worked in Forrest Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
