Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” is arriving imminently, and fans are already becoming extremely excited about what they’ve heard online. Filmmaker Christopher Nolan recently moderated a Q&A with Villeneuve, and he likened the film to “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” in terms of it being the darkest installment of the franchise, which has further stoked the fandom.
And well, without spoilers, an ‘Empire Strikes Back’ comparison also speaks to a second chapter that needs a third to finish, right? To that end, we recently talked to Villeneuve about “Dune: Part Two,” and given how it ends—which we can’t talk about—we put it straight to the director: he has to make a third film, right?
And well, shouldn’t that come next? Villeneuve previously said he might take a break from the planet Arrakis and do something else; he’s also said they’re working on the “Dune Messiah” script. So yes or no? The filmmaker still said he’s still unsure and essentially needs to go back to his mad scientist lab and figure it out.
“Listen, you’re sweet , but I’m doing press for ‘Part Two,’ and once the movie is out, I intend to go back into the snow and dream a little bit to see if I’m going back to Arrakis right away or if I’m taking a detour just for mental sanity, to take a little distance and get rejuvenated.”
“I have other stories I want to tell, and I’ll see…,” he teased. “The first script that’s ready to go in front of cameras [will be the one]. The thing I don’t want to do is make compromises, those books are precious, too important to me. If I bring ‘Dune: Messiah’ to the screen, it has to be with the best screenplay possible, and I want to make sure we don’t compromise.”
So far, we know three of the films Villeneuve is working on (and he’s hinted at a fourth recently). One is “Dune: Messiah,” and the other two are the sci-fi films, “Rendezvous With Rama,” and “Cleopatra,” which is rumored to reunite him with “Dune” star Zendaya. One project we can cross off the list is “Sicario 3,” which the director also told us in the same conversation is not something he’s involved with.
But back to ‘Messiah,’ perhaps the main issue is that the screenplay, being written by Jon Spaights again, who wrote both parts of ‘Dune’ is not yet complete.
“The more time passes by, the more my convictions and will to make it are stronger, but I want to make sure that we find the best way to tell that story; we are close, and we are working on it, but it’s not finished,” he said.
So that’s really the most current state of things with “Dune: Messiah,” where it’s at in the development process and what’s next for Villeneuve. He essentially hasn’t decided yet, and hopefully, “Dune: Part Two” does what it needs to at the box office so that it isn’t a negative factor in any of the decision-making. Now, what is that fourth project?… Regardless, stay tuned for our “Dune: Part Two” review and full interview with Denis Villeneuve.