Like most fans, Aquaman star Jason Momoa wants to see a 4-6 hour director's cut of Denis Villeneuve's Dune. The highly-anticipated blockbuster is based on the 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert.
According to the New York Times, Momoa, who's starring in Dune, spoke out about how he does not want to cut any of the footage that has been captured during production. "It was a cool movie. You know what they need to do? They need to make the four-to-six-hour version of the first half," Momoa said, "it’s like, ‘Let’s watch the four-to-five-hour movie like a TV show; I can choose when I want to watch the whole thing.’ I want to see Denis’s whole vision. I don’t want it to be trimmed."
Dune will reportedly be 155 minutes long, placing it just over that 2 and a half-hour mark. With the film set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in early September, the runtime had been posted on the festival's website after its lineup announcement this past July. Being on the longer side, it seems Villeneuve will have plenty of room to set up interesting storylines and engaging characters. When Legendary and Warner Bros. were eyeing Villeneuve as a potential director back in 2016, the filmmaker was originally hesitant to helm the project upon realizing the amount of material from Herbert's book would mean that the film would have to be trimmed down for a theatrical release. He eventually agreed back in 2017, only if the production companies would allow him to split the novel into two films/parts.
As many fans may know, theatrical releases have often stripped away important aspects of a filmmaker's original vision. Whether that be the Lord of the Rings trilogy, 2017's Justice League, or 1982's Blade Runner, the directors cut for each of those films have always stood out the most and have received much acclaim compared to their theatrical releases. Even with incredibly lengthy runtimes, most viewers would rather feel satisfied with a complete story that takes its time than rather watch a forced story crammed into a 2-hour film.
The Snyder Cut is a perfect example of this. Zack Snyder's 4-hour Justice League cut considerably improved upon the 2017 version, filling in unanswered plot holes and garnering higher praise from critics and fans (jumping from 40% to 71% on rotten tomatoes).
Villeneuve can at least take his time telling the proper story fans of the Dune book would want to see by directing two separate parts, even if some of it will still have to be trimmed down. Even if audiences don't get that 4-6 hour cut of Dune, the fact that the film is the first in a two-part story is a step in the right direction that will hopefully lead more studios to trust their filmmakers' creative visions.
Dune will release in theatres and be available to stream on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.
Source: The New York Times