The director, who returns for 'Dune: Part Two', has expressed interest in making a third film based on 'Dune Messiah', but says he will be done with the franchise after that.
- Feb 1, 2024
AceShowbiz - Denis Villeneuve has no plans on making "Dune" films beyond "Dune 3". While Frank Herbert's novel series, which the movie series is based on, continues with various sequels, the filmmaker states that he will quit the franchise after making the third film.
The director, who returns for "Dune: Part Two", has expressed interest in returning for a potential third film, which has yet to receive a green light, based on Herbert's second novel in the series "Dune Messiah". Speaking to TIME magazine ahead of the release of "Part Two", he confirms, " 'Dune Messiah' should be the last 'Dune' movie for me."
A longtime fan of the novel since he first read it at age 14, Villeneuve reveals to the magazine his approach to the big-screen adaptation, stressing that preserving the book's spirit was paramount. "I was trying to be, as a filmmaker, as invisible as possible. I tried my best to keep the poetry of the book, the atmosphere, the colors, the smell, everything that I felt when I read the book. I tried," he shares.
Speaking on the difference between the first and the second films, the Canadian filmmaker says that "Part Two" features more action sequences than "Part One", with the sandworms having a bigger role. Also set to have more screen time is the tiny desert mouse with the very big ears. Asked about his vision of the fictional creature, he coyly says, "I don't want to break the magic, but it's a mouse that doesn't exist."
Villeneuve previously teased that "Part Two" is "more muscular" than its predecessor. "The first movie was more mediative and contemplative. We were following a young man discovering a new planet, a new culture," he told Total Film magazine in an interview published in December 2023. "The second movie ... it's more of an action film than the first part. It's more muscular."
In the sequel, Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya Coleman, Rebecca Ferguson (II) and Javier Bardem reprise their respective roles, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken being added to the cast. The movie is set to hit U.S. theaters on March 1.
