After Dune lit up both the box office and the hearts of critics, a sequel has been officially greenlit. With the first movie covering roughly half of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel, Dune: Part Two is now a guarantee, and director Denis Villeneuve has teased what audiences can expect from the continuation, describing it as “more fun.”
“The difference is just that Dune: Part One, of course, is like an introduction to a world where we explain who is who, who is doing what, and what is the technology? What is the culture here? The second movie, I think, will be an opportunity to have much more fun. In a way, it will be more cinematic. That’s what I can say.”
Now that the first Dune has laid the foundations, detailing the various elements that make up this complex world, Villeneuve believes that he will be unleashed come the second movie. With the groundwork now handled, the director thinks Dune: Part Two would not only result in a more entertaining outing, but even more cinematic, which is no easy feat when compared to the epic scale of the first Dune.
Dune hurls audiences into the far future, as Duke Leto Atreides accepts stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, “melange”, a drug that extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes faster-than-light travel practical. Though Leto knows the opportunity is an intricate trap set by his enemies, he takes his concubine Lady Jessica, young son and heir Paul, and most trusted advisors to Arrakis, where a bitter betrayal leads Paul and Jessica to the Fremen, natives of Arrakis who live in the deep desert.
Dune has so far grossed $223.2 million worldwide against its production budget of $165 million, with such success hopefully bringing the possibility of Dune: Part Two ever closer. WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff recently commented on the sequel, suggesting that the project would soon be given the greenlight. “Will we have a sequel to Dune? If you watch the movie you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer to that,” Sarnoff said.
Denis Villeneuve previously declared that, should Dune 2 go ahead, production will be ready to go rather quickly. “I would say that I would be fairly ready to go quite quickly now,” the filmmaker revealed. “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.”
Villeneuve had always planned to tell the tale of Dune across two movies, with the sequel covering the second half of the novel. The filmmaker has also since revealed that Dune 2 would move the protagonist role from Timoth&ée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides to Zendaya’s Fremen woman, Chani. “I can’t wait to shoot the second part of Dune to get [Timoth&ée Chalamet and Zendaya] back together,” Villeneuve said. “Knowing that in the next chapter Zendaya will be the protagonist of the story.”
Dune premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2021, and is in theaters and on HBO Max now. This comes to us courtesy of Screen Rant.
Source: movieweb.com