Director Denis Villeneuve says he wants to make three Dune movies. It was just announced that the second part of his space epic, Dune 2, will release in 2023. Villeneuve’s highly-anticipated and visually-stunning adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic novel debuted in theaters and on HBO Max this past week, and has since garnered a global sum of over $223 million. Dune's stacked ensemble cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, to name just a few.
Dune covers the first half of Herbert's novel, following Paul Atreides (Chalamet), the heir of nobleman Duke Leto (Isaac), who has been tasked with ruling over the desert planet of Arrakis per the Emperor. This boots House Harkonnen from Arrakis, leaving House Atreides to deal with both them and the native Fremen. In the wake of Dune’s success, Legendary Films and Warner Bros. Studios announced that Dune 2 is officially in development with a release date of October 20, 2023. Originally, Villeneuve wanted to film ‘Dune: Part One' and ‘Dune: Part Two’ back-to-back. However, that option was not available to him, so he opted to film the first half and wait to see how it performed. Now that the risk has paid off, Villeneuve would rather not settle at two.
In a recent interview with EW, Villeneuve talked about the future of Dune on the big screen. After wrapping up Herbert's original book with Dune: Part Two, the director said he’d like to adapt the author’s second novel, Dune Messiah. Read what he had to say below:
"I always envisioned three movies ... It's not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. To honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice ... Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic ... So I don't know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I'm blessed."
The second half of Dune focuses on Paul’s time with the Fremen on Arrakis, realizing many of his visions teased in throughout the first film. Eventually, he is seen as the "Kwisatz Haderach" and leads the fight to reclaim the planet against House Harkonnen and the Emperor. Most of the first film’s cast members will return in Dune 2 alongside characters like Emperor Shaddam IV and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, younger nephew of Baron Harkonnen, who have yet to be cast. In total, Herbert wrote six Dune novels, including Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
As evident by the shortcomings of David Lynch’s Dune adaptation in 1984, Herbert’s novel was previously-thought to be impossible to faithfully adapt. Villeneuve has proven those naysayers wrong. Regarding his comments about Herbert's writing becoming “psychedelic,” Dune’s story certainly gets stranger with every outing. For example, in the third book, Children of Dune, a pivotal character chooses to transform themselves into a human-sandworm hybrid — something that might be difficult and, quite frankly, disturbing to see on screen. Regardless, the Dune saga is an experience in and of itself, and it would seem tragic to stop at adapting just one book. In fact, some view Dune Messiah as an even better novel than its predecessor, and its potential as a film is huge.
Dune 2 (2023)
Release Date: Oct 20, 2023
Dune covers the first half of Herbert's novel, following Paul Atreides (Chalamet), the heir of nobleman Duke Leto (Isaac), who has been tasked with ruling over the desert planet of Arrakis per the Emperor. This boots House Harkonnen from Arrakis, leaving House Atreides to deal with both them and the native Fremen. In the wake of Dune’s success, Legendary Films and Warner Bros. Studios announced that Dune 2 is officially in development with a release date of October 20, 2023. Originally, Villeneuve wanted to film ‘Dune: Part One' and ‘Dune: Part Two’ back-to-back. However, that option was not available to him, so he opted to film the first half and wait to see how it performed. Now that the risk has paid off, Villeneuve would rather not settle at two.
In a recent interview with EW, Villeneuve talked about the future of Dune on the big screen. After wrapping up Herbert's original book with Dune: Part Two, the director said he’d like to adapt the author’s second novel, Dune Messiah. Read what he had to say below:
"I always envisioned three movies ... It's not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. To honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice ... Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic ... So I don't know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I'm blessed."
The second half of Dune focuses on Paul’s time with the Fremen on Arrakis, realizing many of his visions teased in throughout the first film. Eventually, he is seen as the "Kwisatz Haderach" and leads the fight to reclaim the planet against House Harkonnen and the Emperor. Most of the first film’s cast members will return in Dune 2 alongside characters like Emperor Shaddam IV and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, younger nephew of Baron Harkonnen, who have yet to be cast. In total, Herbert wrote six Dune novels, including Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
As evident by the shortcomings of David Lynch’s Dune adaptation in 1984, Herbert’s novel was previously-thought to be impossible to faithfully adapt. Villeneuve has proven those naysayers wrong. Regarding his comments about Herbert's writing becoming “psychedelic,” Dune’s story certainly gets stranger with every outing. For example, in the third book, Children of Dune, a pivotal character chooses to transform themselves into a human-sandworm hybrid — something that might be difficult and, quite frankly, disturbing to see on screen. Regardless, the Dune saga is an experience in and of itself, and it would seem tragic to stop at adapting just one book. In fact, some view Dune Messiah as an even better novel than its predecessor, and its potential as a film is huge.
Dune 2 (2023)
Release Date: Oct 20, 2023