With Dune roughly a month away from its theatrical release, hoping to make a big splash at the worldwide box office, director Denis Villeneuve recently opened up about his original plan to film both Dune projects all at once.

When Villeneuve agreed to helm Dune back in 2017, the director only had one condition: to split Frank Herbert’s science-fiction novel into two parts. The studios agreed, giving Villeneuve total creative control. The upcoming Dune film is being labeled as part 1 and part 2 is already being written by Villeneuve, even though Warner Bros. still has to officially greenlight the film. In a new interview with Variety, Villeneuve confirmed his original plan to work on both Dune films at once, now feeling confident that part 2 will be made.

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Villeneuve said, “I wanted at the beginning to do the two parts simultaneously. 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.” The director would go on to add that if a 2nd part would be made, it would be even bigger and crazier than its predecessor. “If such a thing as ‘Dune: Part Two’ happens, I will say that it’s going to be an insane playground for me. … It’s going to be just like pure cinematic pleasure for the second part. 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,” he said.

Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune

Villeneuve has confirmed that a Dune part 2 will depend on the box office success of the first installment, especially with the film's streaming release on HBO MAX being simultaneous to its theatrical debut. Villeneuve, like many directors working in the industry, has already shared his frustration with streaming services like HBO MAX in an essay he wrote for Variety in December 2020, stating that the scope and scale of Dune are not meant for home TV's. Villeneuve stated that he understands the difficulties the pandemic has left but compares watching a film like Dune on a TV to driving a speedboat in a bathtub.

Being the visionary director behind other notable works like 2013's Prisoners, 2015's Sicario, 2016's Arrival, and 2017's Blade Runner 2049, it seems that Villeneuve's Dune was a guaranteed hit from the start, making a part 2 very likely. Dune had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, opening up to rave reviews from critics (with a current score of 88% on rotten tomatoes and a 76 on Metacritic). Based on the 1965 science fiction novel by Herbert, Dune follows Paul Atreides, a young man who accepts the stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis (a.k.a Dune), which also contains a valuable substance in the universe known as the "spice" that gives its users extraordinary abilities.

Dune's star-studded ensemble features Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban. Interestingly, reactions from TIFF are more mixed, but only time will tell if Dune will be enough of a hit to warrant a sequel in Warner Bros.' eyes.

Dune is set to release in theatres and on HBO MAX on October 22, 2021.

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Source: Variety