Tag: Denis Villeneuve

Legendary Reunites With Denis Villeneuve For 'Nuclear War' & Announces 'Dune Messiah' Officially In Development
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Legendary Reunites With Denis Villeneuve For ‘Nuclear War’ & Announces ‘Dune Messiah’ Officially In Development

French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is coming off the massive success of “Dune: Part Two” and is cementing his future working relationship with Legendary Entertainment, who are the main folks behind the “Dune” franchise. Yesterday, it was announced by Deadline that he would be reuniting with Legendary for a feature adaptation of the non-fiction novel “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” a book from author Annie Jacobsen that covers the plans and logistics behind a full-scale nuclear war between the various superpowers that have massive caches of nuclear weapons ready to be launched at a moment’s notice. Ensuring the mutual destruction of every living being on the planet.

Here is the synopsis of the original “Nuclear War” novel:

An edge-of-your-seat non-fiction thriller for readers of American Prometheus by Kai Bird or Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham. The first rule of nuclear war is that there are no rules. Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization as we know it.

If a single nuclear missile is launched, it could provoke dozens in return. Frantic calls over secure lines work to confirm the worst as armored helicopters are scrambled outside. Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of holding the destruction.

Because the plans for General Nuclear War are among the most classified secrets held by the United States government, this book takes the reader up to the razor’s edge of what can legally be known. Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.

Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons forever.

That’s not it as Legendary also confirmed (via Entertainment Weekly) that “Dune Messiah” is also officially in the works after Villeneuve had been quietly putting together a script before the release of “Dune: Part Two.” Continuing Paul’s journey into starting his own galaxy war against the other Houses that wouldn’t take a loyalty oath after he made the Emperor submit and killed-off House Harkonnen’s Baron and Fyed.

Villeneuve is a busy guy with other projects on the horizon. Those include a “Cleopatra” film, and Villeneuve is also attempting to tread in the footprints of Stanley Kubrick with an adaptation of the Arthur C. Clarke (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) sci-fi novel “Rendezvous With Rama.” So, with that in mind, don’t expect “Dune Messiah” to happen anytime soon, and Warner Bros. has yet to give the sequel a release making it hard to predict when cameras could begin rolling.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & EW

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‘Dune Messiah’: Denis Villeneuve Says Script “Almost Finished” But Hopes To Make Another Movie Before Tackling His Last ‘Dune’ Installment

There has been an assumption of what happens next for the “Dune” franchise once the second installment, the other half of the first book, is released in theaters on March 1, 2024, after being bumped from its November date as Warner Bros. fearing the cast wouldn’t be able to promote the sequel due to the SAG-AFTRA strike (A deal with the AMPTP is now ratified by members). Director, co-writer, and producer Denis Villeneuve is giving us a rather large update.

While speaking at an event in South Korea (via Tong Tong Culture) today to promote “Dune: Part Two,” the filmmaker revealed that the script to “Dune Messiah,” aka, “Dune 3” is nearly finished but doesn’t see himself jumping back to Arrakis anytime soon after a “very challenging” shoot on the second pic.

“There’s the dream of making an adaptation of ‘Dune Messiah,’ the third movie that will be the end of the journey of Paul Atreides. It will make absolute sense for me to do this movie. The movie is being written right now, the screenplay is almost finished, but it’s not finished it will take a little time. I don’t know exactly when I’ll go back to Arrakis, but I might make a detour before just to move away from the sand for my mental sanity (laughs), I might do something in between but my dream would be to rule one last time on this planet that I love.”

Villeneuve also seemed to reiterate that the third film is expected to be when he dismounts from as the franchise director, nothing says someone else couldn’t keep the movies going as there are four other novels from Frank Herbert to adapt. Neither Legendary nor Warner Bros. has officially greenlit/dated the third installment. Still, barring any major box office and critical hiccups next year when “Dune: Part Two” is finally released, there is an expectation that the studio will sign off on the next installment of the “Dune” saga.

One of those potential projects Villeneuve could attempt to make between “Dune” installments is his adaptation of the Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi novel “Rendezvous With Rama” and would see him reunite with Alcon Entertainment after working with them on “Blade Runner 2049” and his thriller “Prisoners.” Clarke, of course, was the author and co-writer of the screenplay of the iconic Stanley Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The French-Canadian filmmaker was first announced for the project back in December 2021 in an article from The Hollywood Reporter and screenwriter Eric Roth (“Killers of The Flower Moon“) may have revealed doing some screenwriting work on the project last month without directly naming “Rama.”

“I just wrote a movie for Denis Villeneuve. We’ll see what ends up happening with it, but it’s about space and time, and it’s very lonely. It’s certainly about eternity,” Roth said on the Script Apart Podcast.

Rumors based on a production grid making the rounds online had suggested that his next film could be “Cleopatra” for Sony Pictures. However, this has yet to be confirmed/backed up by Villeneuve (Who has yet to announce his involvement), trades, or Sony themselves. Also worth bringing back up is Villeneuve’s new statement from today about “moving away from the sand” for a production shoot which would suggest he’s not itching right now to make a movie about a historical Egyptian leader.

As mentioned, “Dune: Part Two” will hit theaters on March 1, 2024.

You can watch that full exchange with Villeneuve below.

SOURCE: DENIS VILLENEUVE VIA TONG TONG CULTURE

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‘Sicario 3’ Producers Want To Bring Back Emily Blunt & Josh Brolin For Third Installment: “Our Idea Is To Get The Cast Back Together”

Denis Villeneuve‘s thrillers such as “Prisoners” and “Sicario” helped put the French-Canadian filmmaker on the radar of global audiences alongside studios leading to more pricey sci-fi projects such as “Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049,” and his two “Dune” movies. So, it’s not that shocking that “Sicario” after becoming a financial and acclaimed critical success would end up getting a sequel. Despite the mixed reception of that second film, a third one is in active development with the expectation that Benicio del Toro will be leading “Sicario 3.” While there had been some assumption that Josh Brolin‘s Matt, a C.I.A. Agent, would be making a grand return in “Sicario 3” seemingly in an antagonist role, it sounds like producers are also aiming to get Emily Blunt back in the fold as well.

During a chat with Collider to promote the Netflix crime thriller “Reptile,” franchise producers Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill dished that they want to get the trio in the next movie but scheduling is going to play a big role for that to come together.

Interview: Denis Villeneuve Talks 'Sicario,' Strong Female Leads, 'Blade Runner' Sequel & More – IndieWire

“Our idea is to get the cast back together with Benicio, Emily, and Josh, and we’ve got a great story to tell…Benicio, by nature of just working with us most recently, has been probably the closest to it at the moment. But we’re keeping all the talent informed. They’ve stayed close to it. Like Trent said, the strike has just slowed us down a bit on this last draft, but I think everybody is very excited. Everyone sort of knows the framework of the story and is very excited to, hopefully, get our shooting draft in order very soon.”

How exactly they’ll navigate the busy schedules of two of their primary actors isn’t clear but another aspect hasn’t been announced either, who will direct “Sicario 3” and what the plot will be pertaining to how Blunt’s FBI Agent gets pulled back into the fray. We’ll just have to wait for more information once the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved, hopefully in the near future. I think it would be in their best interest to also court co-star Daniel Kaluuya, considering his star has risen as well since the first film was released back in 2015.

In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent [Emily Blunt] is enlisted by an elite government task force official [Josh Brolin] to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Led by an enigmatic consultant with a questionable past [Benicio Del Toro], the team sets out on a clandestine journey forcing Kate to question everything that she believes in order to survive.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

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‘Sicario 3’: Producers Promise “Awesome Idea” For Planned Third Installment Of Benicio Del Toro Franchise

Actor Benicio Del Toro landed himself a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in Denis Villeneuve‘s “Sicario” which had a script penned by rising talent Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”) and led to a sequel directed by Stefano Sollima that took a slight dip at the box office earning $75.8 million (Compared the original’s take of $84.8 million). Without spoiling the ending of “Sicario: Day of The Soldado,” Del Toro’s character Alejandro Gillick (An ex-Mexican prosecutor who became a CIA-trained assassin after his family was murdered by the kingpin) survived the brutal events of the film and would be expected to be the protagonist of the third installment. That third film is now officially in the works.

Producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are now confirming development on “Sicaro 3” while speaking with The Messenger, the duo are known for working on the previous two films alongside the successful “John Wick” franchise including the upcoming spinoff “Ballerina” that stars Ana de Armas and Norman Reedus.

“When we can continue writing it. It was pencils down, but the idea is awesome,” Iwanyk said of the status of “Sicario 3.” Adding, “I can’t wait for ‘Sicario 3,’ I could watch Benicio play that guy forever. I mean, I can watch Benicio in anything, but with that character, it doesn’t get old.”

While Sheridan wrote the scripts for the last two installments, it’s unclear if he’ll be returning for “Sicario 3” given his attention has been focused on a growing television empire at Paramount with multiple shows actively shooting and being developed all at the same time. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that producers can convince Sheridan to take a directing role after tackling feature thrillers like “Wind River” and “Those Who Wish Me Dead.” Then again, he’s extremely busy.

Even less clear if we’re ever going to see the return of Emily Blunt’s FBI Agent Kate Macer, who had been the original protagonist and before the sequel switched to the perspective of Del Toro’s Alejandro. The second film seemed to indicate that Alejandro would see his story continued in a future installment.

SOURCE: THE MESSENGER

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Director Denis Villeneuve Shares Update On Status Of ‘Dune Messiah’ Adaptation: “There Are Words On Paper”

Recently, it was announced by Warner Bros. that they would be moving the release of their sci-fi fantasy film “Dune: Part Two” from November 3, 2023 to March 15, 2024. The move stemmed from the studio being upset they wouldn’t be able to get the film’s popular/young cast to help promote the film ahead of release because the actors’ strike has prevented members from doing press/promotion for struck studio work. A key element of the disruptive nature of strikes and how actors could be highlighting how important their contributions are beyond being in front of the camera. Pushing the film into 2024 is an obvious tactic by the studio to a new date when they assumingly believe the strikes could be resolved.

That hasn’t stopped the early promotional campaign for the film such as a new issue of Empire Magazine featuring an interview with co-writer/director Denis Villeneuve and the filmmaker gave a brief update on the status of their third film in a “Dune” trilogy with the adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s second novel, “Dune Messiah.” Something that the director has been talking about making for a while now and seems like there has been some writing taking place.

“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” the filmmaker told Empire. “’Dune Messiah’ was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero,” Villeneuve explains. “Which is not what [Frank Herbert] wanted to do. My adaptation [of Dune] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”

“I will say, there are words on paper,” Villeneuve said of the status of the third film referred to as “Dune: Part Three.”

There had been previous indications that franchise screenwriter Jon Spaihts (“Prometheus”) had already tossed around ideas, but it’s starting to sound like they might actually be developing an early outline/draft. This wouldn’t be that shocking given Villeneuve has been talking about making his “Dune” trilogy for a while now. The speediness of the development would likely hinge on the material already existing in a book that the public is very much aware of and that fits nicely alongside the last two films. It would also explain why Villeneuve is talking about stepping away from the director’s chair once he completes the trilogy, three films would allow him to accomplish his adaptation without having to wade into the waters of the more wacky elements of the subsequent sequels that got increasingly weirder.

SOURCE: EMPIRE

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Denis Villeneuve’s Highly Anticipated ‘Dune: Part Two’ Officially Delayed To March 2024

There had been some rumblings back in July that Warner Bros., in the wake of the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, was strongly considering a delay for the release of “Dune: Part Two.” The reasoning was said to be due to the studio not being able to capitalize on the young/popular cast members promoting the film and participating in various press interviews to boost audience numbers leading up to the theatrical release. As actors are being asked not to promote projects during the strikes on struck projects. In the hopes for a large financial jump at the global box office from the last film that was directly impacted by COVID.

Well, it looks like that is indeed the case as Warner Bros. has officially bumped the release date for “Dune 2” from November 3 to all the way into 2024 with a new March 15 date. We’ll keep our fingers crossed there won’t be another delay and this one sticks.

It is also assumed Warners will move their DC Comics pic “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom” (a December movie that is without a trailer) into 2024, but we’re still waiting on official confirmation on that front and the studio seems to be still mulling over that decision despite failing to even start a marketing campaign.

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has previously teased his desire to adapt the second Frank Herbert novel, “Dune Messiah,” to round out a “Dune” trilogy. There is also a prequel/spinoff series at Max, “Dune: The Sisterhood,” currently shooting after multiple creative/production hiccups that will focus on the Harkonnen Sisters establishing the Bene Gesserit and is set 10,000 years before the events of the movies.

“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.

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”).

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

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‘Dune: Part Two’: Dave Bautista Calls Austin Butler’s Performance As Feyd-Rautha “Terrifying”

This year will mark Dave Bautista‘s end in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 but it’s not the only big studio sci-fi project on the horizon. The actor is also set to reprise the role of the Baron’s nephew Rabban Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two and we’ll get to see even more villainy from that House as Paul will attack them on multiple fronts thanks to his new Fremen army.

Best Actor nominee Austin Butler (Elvis) is one of the new additions to the franchise as his character Feyd-Rautha was strategically missing in the first installment as not to introduce too many characters at once. Bautista is now sharing his experience working with Butler on the sequel to USA Today and sounds like we’re getting to see another side to Butler compared to his performance of Elvis Presley.

“There’s a lot more layers to Rabban, and none of them are good,” the actor teased about the highly-anticipated sequel. Bautista adds that Butler became a chameleon as his villainous younger brother, “I don’t know who this guy was, but it’s not Austin Butler. It’s not Elvis. His voice is different, his look is different. Everything about his demeanor is terrifying.”

To be fair, it’s not like Butler was cute and seductive when he played Manson Family member Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and attempted to butcher the leads in a revisionist version of those horrific events. However, he’ll likely have a lot more screen time in the Dune sequel than he did in that movie.

Butler isn’t the only newbie on the call-sheet we’ll also see Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, the daughter of Christopher Walken‘s Emperor Shaddam IV. Another interesting addition was French actress Léa Seydoux in the role of Lady Margot Fenring of House Fenring (another Bene Gesserit character), who is married to Count Hasimir Fenring. Other returning cast members are Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.

Dune: Part Two is set to be released in theaters on November 3, 2023 and we can’t wait for a teaser trailer from Warner Bros. that is likely going to arrive between now and San Diego Comic-Con.

SOURCE: USA TODAY

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Léa Seydoux To Play Bene Gesserit Character Lady Margot Fenring In ‘Dune: Part Two’

I think it’s safe to say audeinces are excited to see what director Denis Villeneuve has come up with for his second Dune installment with Dune: Part Two and the casting so far has been extremely impressive. It keeps getting better with each new addition.

Another high-profle actor has been selected to join the sci-fi fantasy epic as Deadline reports that French actress Léa Seydoux (Crimes of The Future) has been cast in the role of Lady Margot Fenring of House Fenring.

Like Lady Jessica, she is a Bene Gesserit and married Count Hasimir Fenring, which likely means the Count is potentially in the film too. While aligned with the Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino, she has been helpful to the Jessica and could be a secret ally to the Atreides in the film as they gather an army of Fremem to defeat their enemies of Irrakis using the meissah prophecy for his own personal benefit.

Other additions to the sequel’s cast include actress Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Midsommar) as Princess Irulan, the daughter of Christopher Walken‘s Emperor Shaddam IV. A role that would have importance in sequels. Also, taking a villain role is Austin Butler (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Elvis) is playing Paul’s evil Harkonnen rival, Feyd-Rautha, the dangerous pretty-boy nephew of Baron Harkonnen (played by Stellan Skarsgard).

Returning for second half of the story are Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.

Dune: Part Two is set to be released on October 20, 2023, and is expected to begin shooting this summer. Villeneuve has indicated that a third film could be on the table as he hopes to adapt the second Frank Herbet novel, Dune Messiah, to round-out a trilogy.

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: DEADLINE

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Florence Pugh & Austin Butler In Talks For Key Roles In Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Two’

Director Denis Villeneuve is searching for three new cast members for his Dune sequel to fill important roles in the second half of his sci-fi-epic, splitting the first Frank Herbert novel into two parts. The studio seems to be zeroing in on young talent to appear in Dune: Part Two alongside Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya.

Deadline reports that American actor Austin Butler (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) is being eyed to play Paul’s evil Harkonnen rival, Feyd-Rautha, the dangerous pretty-boy nephew of Baron Harkonnen (played by Stellan Skarsgard). Butler recently worked with Quentin Tarantino playing a member of the Manson Family, Tex, in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and portrays the legendary Elvis Presley in an upcoming biopic co-starring with Tom Hanks.

The role of Feyd was originally played by musician Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 box office flop.

Earlier in the week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that British actress Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Midsommar) was being courted to play Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor, a role that would have importance in sequels. Chalamet and Pugh previously worked together on Little Women.

Dune: Part Two is set to be released on October 20, 2023, and had been hoping to begin shooting before the end of 20222.

SOURCE: THR & DEADLINE

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Denis Villeneuve Says Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen Will Be “A Very Important Character” In ‘Dune: Part Two’

Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune installment held back on introducing too many characters all at once, which likely helped make the film more accessible to a general audience by not showing too many faces all at once and splitting the first book into two parts (the David Lynch film becoming a bit of a bloated mess).

The filmmaker spoke with Empire about Dune in a spoiler-filled interview and explained the reasoning behind making the Spice Guild Navigators mysterious and not introducing “very important” characters like Feyd-Rathua Harkonnen.

“Definitely. That’s a choice that I personally brought on. There was enough characters that were introduced in this first part, and it will be more elegant to keep Feyd for [Dune: Part Two]. It will be definitely a very, very important character in the second part.”

Feyd is essentially Paul’s Harkonnen rival and the two eventually duel. His casting will be highly anticipated alongside new roles such as The Emperor, Princess Irulan, and Alia Atreides.

Villeneuve also clarified that the group seen in the film are simply Guild representatives, and not Navigators, who will be also saved for later. Another important group in the Dune mythology.

“They were Guild representatives. They were not Navigators. We don’t see the Navigators in this first part. That was the one of the challenges of this adaptation – I was trying to keep mystery alive as much as possible. We don’t show the Emperor, we don’t see the Spacing Guild Navigators. There’s a lot of characters that are mentioned or that are in the background that we don’t see right away. I tried to keep all the space-travelling as mysterious as possible, like almost bringing some kind of mysticism or sacred relationship with that part of the movie. Everything involving space is just evocated and very mysterious.”

Casting those key new characters will likely start soon with the studio eyeing a production start of July 18 and a release date of October 20, 2023.

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: EMPIRE