Many might know that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is on the way, but most might be unfamiliar that the movie is only the first half of a two-part story. Legendary and Villeneuve split the first novel into two films, hopefully, to make the epic fantasy tale more digestible to an international audience.
Screenwriter Jon Spaihts is currently working on a sequel, Dune: Part Two, after being pulled off the spinoff series Dune: The Sisterhood to focus on the next feature film.
Villeneuve has spoken to Italian magazine Il Venerdi (via Secrets of Dune) about the sequel (hasn’t been given a release date) and mentions that Dune: Part Two will see Zendaya’s Fremen character Chani become the protagonist.
While this might seem jarring given that the first film will essentially be told from the perspective of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, but it seems the film will end before we see either The Emperor (hasn’t been seen in any promotional materials) or Paul’s sister Alia Atreides.
Paul quickly gains a reputation among the Fremen, the native inhabitants of Arrakis, who eventually see him as part of a local prophecy (a manufactured one created by the Bene Gesserit) and they see him as religious figure worth rallying around to fight against the brutal foreign rulers, House Harkonnen.
Telling the second installment from Chani’s point of view could help establish the character as being just as important as Paul. Not to mention giving the Fremen a bigger voice in the story, given that Arrakis is their planet.
Legendary is also in a unique position as author Frank Herbert penned six dense books before his death, leaving a legacy of work that could be adapted for years to come. There are also subsequent books from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, so there is a hefty amount of source material to pull from for future films and television shows.
Dune will hit theaters and HBO Max on October 22.
DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
SOURCE: IL VENERDI
THE RONIN 