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Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve intends to shoot a third “Dune” movie, which would be based on the second volume of the series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert.
The Canadian director advanced his idea in an interview published Thursday by Entertainment Weekly magazine, just two days after the studio Warner Bros. and production company Legendary confirmed that there will be a sequel to the first feature, released this fall.
“I always envisioned three movies,” Villeneuve said.
“It’s not that I want to make a franchise, but this is ‘Dune’ and ‘Dune’ is a great story. To do it honor, I think it would take at least three movies. That would be my dream,” he explained.
The filmmaker’s proposal is to at least complete the narrative arc of protagonist Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet in “Dune: Part One.”
Villeneuve has enough material to continue this story on the big screen, as the saga originally written by Herbert consists of six novels, to which must be added a handful of publications by his son, Brian Patrick Herbert, and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson.
The possibility of a sequel to “Dune” was to be expected, as the recently released film only narrates one-half of Herbert’s first novel.
However, the third film would be based on the second book, “Dune: Messiah”.
Until now, the sequel to the first feature film had not been officially confirmed and some voices in Hollywood feared that it would not happen because of the high budget of “Dune” and the difficulties of the studios to monetize their blockbusters during the pandemic.
With a budget of some $165 million (excluding advertising costs), “Dune” has so far grossed $223 million in theaters worldwide.
In addition to Chamalet, the first feature film boasts a spectacular cast that includes Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Rampling.
The story of “Dune” follows Paul Atreides, a member of the family in charge of the exploitation of Arrakis, the only planet that allows access to a very precious commodity.
The Harkonen, who previously controlled the planet, plan to regain power and Atreides flees to the desert, where he will face countless dangers.
