Given the paucity of new film content of late, I’m sure you were as glad as I was to see the first official stills from upcoming sci-fi epic Dune. The pic will (hopefully) hit cinemas on December 18th, marking the source material’s long-awaited return to the big screen – the last time Frank Herbert’s novel had a cinematic adaptation came back in 1984.
And, if all goes well, director Denis Villeneuve intends to adapt the story into two movies, and he explained why in a new Vanity Fair preview. Speaking to the outlet, here’s what he had to say:
“I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”
Quite simply, Villeneuve feels there’s too much content to deliver in one feature. It’s unclear whether the sequel has been greenlit, or whether its future rests on the success of the upcoming film, but I hope the movie has a strong enough box office to fully realize what the director has planned. After all, there’d be nothing worse than a great Dune pic that feels incomplete because its second act never got made.
The failure of Villeneuve’s last film – also a sci-fi epic – to find a wide enough audience to cover its gargantuan costs weighs heavily on those prospects, too. Whether Dune ends up a more commercial success remains to be seen, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Anyways, leave a comment below with your own thoughts on Villeneuve’s remarks, or on the new photos, or on the film general, or all three. That sentence got away from me a little. You can take your pick from them. I’ll leave you with my own thought comment, though: Blade Runner 2049 was an extraordinary artistic triumph and a commercial black hole, which I’m very glad exists but can’t believe ever got made. Dune looks to have all the same financial risks as 2049, but without the certainty we’ll get a satisfying conclusion. Going by Villeneuve’s intentions to make a Part II, Part I needs to find an audience, and a big one at that.