Posted in: Dune, Legendary, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: cleopatra, denis villeneuve, dune: messiah, dune: part two

Denis Villeneuve On Tackling Other Projects Before Dune: Messiah

Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve confirms he is working on four projects, and one of them needs to happen before he can work on Dune: Messiah.

One of the problems with making a really good movie where the ending is a bit open-ended, and there is another book that could be adapted is that people are going to ask you questions about what comes next. Dune: Part Two opened in theaters last night, and people seem to be having a good time with it; the early box office numbers might be even better than initially projected. All of that is very good, and director Denis Villeneuve hasn't exactly been dissuading people from talking to him about adapting Dune: Messiah. He's been actively working on a script in some that we know of since at least August of last year, if not sooner. He's admitted to multiple press outlets that the script is nearly done, and Hans Zimmer is already working on music. That makes it seem like Dune: Messiah is up to bat next for Villeneuve, but as he explained to The Hollywood Reporter, that isn't the case. In the book, there is a significant time jump, twelve years, and Villeneuve was asked if that was factored into why he wanted to wait.

"It's not that," Villeneuve replied. "I just finished Part Two very recently, and I went from Part One to Part Two without even an hour in between. I'm not complaining. I feel blessed to work, of course, but it's just that I physically need to recover for a couple of weeks. It's also about making sure that I have the right screenplay. I have four projects on the table, currently. One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly. So, it would be a good idea to do something in between projects before tackling Dune Messiah and Cleopatra. All these projects are still being written, so we'll see where they go, but I have no control over that."

So Villeneuve has four projects in the works that we know about, one of which is a secret. He's currently signed on to direct Cleopatra, Rendezvous with Rama, Dune: Messiah, and this secret project, but for those of you who are fans of Sicario, the third film is not the secret project. When the interview commented on fans not getting their hopes up about a third film, Villeneuve laughed and said, "It's funny because I only heard about this project through an interview, but if Taylor Sheridan is the screenwriter, I want to see that movie." As for Sheridan, he's lost somewhere in Yellowstone at the moment, and we don't know when and if he will return. As always, we preach that absence makes the heart grow fonder and nothing good comes from a rushed film. Villeneuve appears to be on board with Dune: Messiah, just maybe not on the timeline fans might want, and that's okay; the books already exist, and there is plenty of Dune to explore while we patiently wait.

Dune: Part Two – Summary, Cast List, Release Date

The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on Dune: Part Two, the next chapter of Frank Herbert's celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021's six-time Academy Award-winning Dune.

The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert's acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (Wonka, Call Me by Your Name), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Malcolm & Marie, Euphoria), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: End Game, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Hairspray), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences, Lady Bird), Léa Seydoux (the James Bond franchise and Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (the Mamma Mia! films, Avengers: Age of Ultron), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Assassin's Creed), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos).

Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Dune: Part Two was released on March 1, 2024, worldwide release from Warner Bros. Pictures.

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