Highly-anticipated is a gross understatement when it comes to discussing Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. With all the delays, concerns over staying true to the cherished source material, the casting, the list goes on; it seemed impossible to please the massive and diverse audience. I’ve been on the ride with you, and on the fence with some, but this final trailer has placed me squarely in the “Let’s do this!!” category. Turn it up!
It looks beautiful, action-packed while meaningful, perfectly cast, and I am now more than ever, thrilled to hear the sequel is all but a done deal. “I would say that I would be fairly ready to go quite quickly now,” Denis Villeneuve told io9/Gizmodo, before elaborating. “Quickly in (terms of) a movie of that size. You still need to make sets and costumes, we are talking about months….But if there’s enthusiasm and the movie is greenlit, sooner than later I will say that I will be ready to shoot 2022 for sure…I am ready to go and I would say that I would love to bring it to the screen as soon as possible.”
Executives are saying the sequel hangs in the balance, depending on the viewership on HBO Max. Villeneuve has total faith in his film. Speaking to Total Film, Villeneuve said, “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.’ (laughs) I don’t know how other people will feel about it. But me? Denis Villeneuve when he was 14 years old? Thank you.”
The official synopsis reads, “Called to the desert in his dreams, Paul (Timoth&ée Chalamet) is awakened by visions of a mysterious girl (Zendaya) and violent sandstorms on the distant, desolate planet of Arrakis. The only son of the Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), he’s heir to House Atreides: destined to bring peace to the ravaged lands rich with spice, the most precious and powerful resource in the universe. With their collective fate at stake, they must work together to stand a chance against untamed powers, colossal sandworms and their ultimate fears – but only time will tell what’s to become of their world.”
The ensemble casts includes Timoth&ée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Starsg&ård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
For those of you who’ve had your heads in the sand (eh?), Dune is an epic akin to The Lord of the RIngs trilogy, and some have dared to compare it to the original Star Wars.& The wait is almost over . Dune is scheduled to be released in theaters and streaming on HBO Max October 22, 2021.