Posted in: Dune, Legendary, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: denis villeneuve, dune, dune: part two
Dune: Denis Villeneuve On Staying "Close To The Spirit" Of The Book
Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve says he tried his best to stay close to the book's spirit as Peter Jackson did with Lord of the Rings.
Article Summary
- Denis Villeneuve aims to stay true to the spirit of Dune, likening it to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings adaptations.
- The director hopes his film will encourage viewers to read Frank Herbert's Dune for the first time.
- Villeneuve expresses respect for the source material, intending his adaptation to resonate closely with Herbert's vision.
- Dune: Messiah is likely next, but fans shouldn't expect it to be the final journey to Arrakis.
It can go either way when it comes to adapting material that has been around for a long time and is part of the foundation of pop culture. Sometimes, you get adaptations that add almost nothing to the broader conversation, no matter how big the initial piece of media was, because it fails to bring anything new to the table. Then you have productions that manage to make things once thought impossible seem possible on the big screen. We've seen Dune on the big screen before, but as much love as all might have for that version, it's limited because it's trying to do too much in one film. However, when you give the right filmmakers enough time and money to adapt projects, you get films that go above and beyond. We saw that with Peter Jackson and Lord of the Rings as a whole group of people picked up the books for the first time after seeing the movie. We're seeing it again with Dune, and Vanity Fair asked director Denis Villeneuve about his film, which is the thing that introduces people to the world of Dune and helps them pick up the book for the first time.
"Yes, I tried my best to stay close to the spirit and to stay close aesthetically to something I had in mind when I read the book," Villeneuve explained. "I remember when I saw Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings, where I felt so much respect for the book, so much love for the book. Of course, it's my adaptation, it's my take on it, but people will feel an energy, a spirit that is close to what Frank Herbert had done. So if it can bring more people to read the book, it would be great. At the end of the day, that's the goal."
Villeneuve has been pretty upfront that Dune: Messiah is the last film he wants to do within this universe, but the books go on well beyond that. They also get weird, and whether or not they are adaptable remains to be seen. That being said, people are a lot less forgiving of people who go into adaptations that don't seem to have at least some respect for the source material. No one needs to love or worship any source material they decide to adopt, but respecting that source material and its place within pop culture is essential. Villeneuve is still being coy about whether or not Dune: Messiah is happening, but all know it will. There is a significant time jump, so Villeneuve is in a unique position where he isn't working against the inevitable march of time. We'll see another film from him in December 2026, but Dune fans shouldn't expect that to be the final trip to Arrakis.