Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” finally hit U.S. cinemas last week following a solid international run from late September.
With nearly $300 million at the box-office, studios Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures greenlit “Dune: Part Two” the other day which will shoot next year for a Fall 2023 release.
Now in a new interview with THR, Villeneuve offers an update on how the second film is progressing and how the announcement has resulted in a bit of a scramble even as they’re already well into the pre-production phase:
“[The ‘Dune: Part Two’ release date is] fantastic news, but it’s also kind of a burden. The good news is that a lot of the work has been done already regarding design, casting, locations and writing. So we’re not starting from scratch.
It’s not a long period of time, but I will try to face that challenge because it’s important for me that the audience sees ‘Part Two’ as soon as possible. It’s not a sequel where it’s another episode or another story with the same characters. It actually has direct continuity to the first movie. It’s the second part of the big, huge movie that I’m trying to do. So the sooner the better.”
One big change is Villeneuve will not be repeating the day-and-date HBO Max/theatrical release, saying a traditional theatrical only first release was a “non-negotiable condition” for the follow-up. He adds:
“I love streaming. I use streaming all the time. But I still think that contemporary movies need to have their chance. All movies need to have proper time in theaters. The theatrical experience is at the very heart of the cinematic language for me.”
Villeneuve also says he’s keen to make bigger movies over the next few years, with no plans for smaller “Prisoners” or “Enemy” style films until he gets a bit older:
“If things go well with ‘Part Two,’ I could foresee the idea of maybe doing … ‘Dune: Messiah.’ That would make sense to me. After that, I think that I will make some other movies – let’s call them big movies, regarding their ambition and scope. And later on, when I’m too tired to do that, I will go back to some smaller projects. But for now, I have the energy to do this.”
“Dune: Part One” is in theaters and on HBO Max now with “Dune: Part Two” set to arrive in theaters on October 20th 2023.