We’re still reeling from the exciting news that French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has been selected by Amazon MGM Studios to direct “Bond 26.” However, before that mountain climb, he’s still got “Dune 3” next on deck, an adaptation of the second Frank Herbert novel, “Dune Messiah,” said to begin shooting this summer.
With that in mind, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond, speaking with CNBC (via Culture Crave), revealed that Villeneuve is going to be shooting the entire sequel with IMAX cameras, which would be quite the accomplishment given the scale of the project and even hinted at the possibility Villeneuve might employ their use on “Bond 26” as well.
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“[Denis Villeneuve] is so creative…he’s making the next ‘Dune’ with IMAX cameras, filming the whole thing. We haven’t started talking yet, but I’m praying that’s the case with ‘Bond,’ Gelfond told CNBC.
UPDATE: Variety is now under the impression that the IMAX CEO “misspoke” concerning how much use the IMAX cameras will get and is toting that the official title will be simply “Dune: Part Three.”
Some of the aspects of the film, like the massive intergalactic holy war (teased in “Dune: Part One“) and other big action set pieces, will likely be a huge reason why the IMAX format will help add to the scale of the sci-fi epic (Villeneuve’s last entry). Also, it could help differentiate the third installment from the previous two.
The returning cast of “Dune Messiah” features Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Anya Taylor-Joy back as Paul’s sister, Alia Atreides. Joining as new additions to the franchise are actors Robert Pattinson (“Mickey 17”), who is said to be playing a shapeshifting villain named Scytale (a Tleilaxu Face Dancer), alongside Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke playing the twin children of Paul and Chani (who eventually become Empress Ghanima Atreides and God Emperor Leto Atreides II).
Warner Bros. still hasn’t announced a release date for “Dune Messiah,” but we won’t have to wait too much longer before the studio slates the film.
You can watch that exchange between Gelfond and CNBC below.
