Tag: Denis Villeneuve

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‘Dune: Part Two’ To Begin Filming On July 18

Dune has crossed $300 million at the global box office and Legendary/Warner Bros. has officially announced the second film, Dune: Part Two, is moving ahead with a release date of October 20, 2023.

We now have a better idea when director Denis Villeneuve will get cameras rolling and should have the returning/new cast ready to go to finish the second half of the story.

Josh Encinias apparently attended a Dune Q&A, where it was revealed that they’ll get production on Dune: Part Two started sooner than expected with a potential start of July 18, 2022. Denis Villeneuve had indicated a possible fall start in interviews before the sequel was greenlit and would suggest they’re ahead of schedule if they started over the summer.

https://twitter.com/joshencinias/status/1457142561575817224

Considering we already know most of the cast and crew are returning, the next big step will be announcing the actors for new roles such as The Emperor, Princess Irulan, Paul’s sister Alia Atreides, and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Villeneuve doubled-down on the idea of making a trilogy and suggests he’s “always envisioned” making three movies. The idea was that he’d adapt Frank Herbert’s second novel, Dune Messiah, for a third movie.

“I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”

“Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic. So I don’t know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I’m blessed.”

I don’t think we’re going to get more than three movies from Villeneuve but he very much could be involved with subsequent series spinoffs like Dune: The Sisterhood and beyond. Having Legendary and HBO Max announcing more Dune shows would be the least surprising thing to happen.

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.

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‘Dune’ Crosses $300M At Global Box Office

According to Warner Bros., Denis Villeneuve’s first installment in the Dune franchise has earned an impressive $300 million at the worldwide box office.

It’s a huge win for fans of Dune, who have been waiting decades for a studio to make a competent version that was appealing to general audiences. Thankfully, Villeneuve was able to spend the runtime of Dune to properly world-build and explain most of the dense mythology, before jumping into the more action-focused sequel.

The second film, Dune: Part Two, was officially announced last week by Legendary/Warner Bros. for a release date of October 20, 2023.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Villeneuve doubled-down on the idea of making a trilogy and suggests he’s “always envisioned” making three movies. The idea was that he’d adapt Frank Herbert’s second novel, Dune Messiah, for a third movie.

“I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”

“Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic. So I don’t know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I’m blessed.”

As far as we know, Jon Spaihts is only tackling the Dune: Part Two script and they haven’t said they are actively working on a Dune Messiah movie, just the intention to do so in the future. Spaihts was originally tackling Dune: The Sisterhood before the second film became a priority at Legendary.

Denis has indicated he’d stop at three films given that Herbert’s books such as Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune would mean new castings given the time-jumps.

Posted on in Film News, News

Denis Villeneuve Still Keen To Adapt ‘Dune Messiah’ To Make A ‘Dune’ Trilogy: “I Always Envisioned Three Movies”

This week saw Legendary announce officially that Dune: Part Two is moving forward with Warner Bros. planning to release it on October 20, 2023, all but confirming its shoot will indeed start by fall of 2022 (hinted to by Denis Villeneuve).

However, it doesn’t sound like they’ll stop at only two movies and a series, Dune: The Sisterhood. During the promotional tour for the film, director Denis Villeneuve has talked up the idea of tackling the second Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah, for a third film.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he doubled-down on the idea of making a trilogy and suggests he’s “always envisioned” making three movies.

“I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.”

“Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic. So I don’t know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I’m blessed.”

If Villneueve gets to make his trilogy, the impression he gives he won’t be the one to adapt the other four books such as Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. Given the time-jumps, it would mean they’d have to recast roles and we don’t know if Legendary will even attempt to adapt the other books.

Then again, cycling out different directors to continue a Dune franchise wouldn’t be unheard of. Legendary could also decide to stop at a trilogy and pivot to television/HBO Max for the other books. Global box office returns would likely have a big impact on all of this.

As far as we know, Jon Spaihts is only tackling the Dune: Part Two script and they haven’t said they are actively working on a Dune Messiah movie, just the intention to do so in the future.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune: Part Two’: Legendary Officially Announces Sequel To Release October 2023

After Dune’s impressive $41 million domestic opening weekend, Legendary has officially announced that Dune: Part Two is moving forward with a release in October 2023 from Warner Bros. as the sci-fi epic has already earned $223.2 million globally.

Denis Villeneuve had previously said a fall production start next year was “realistic.”

We already know that Dune: Part Two has been in development for the better part of two years with Villeneuve co-writing the script with Jon Spaihts, the latter exiting the HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood to focus on the sequel. A clear sign the project was a priority for Legendary.

While they could stop at two movies, Villeneuve has considered the idea of pushing towards a trilogy by using Dune Messiah as the basis of the third movie.

“There is Dune’s second book, The Messiah of Dune, which could make an extraordinary film. I always saw that there could be a trilogy; after that, we’ll see. It’s years of work; I can’t think of going further than that.”

The second installment would allow for more casting additions with roles such as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Paul’s young sister Alia Atreides, Princess Irulan, Shaddam IV The Padishah Emperor, and others. Since those characters are being saved and allowed for Dune to give newbies a crash course on the franchise’s deep mythology.

I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if we see a bit of a time jump between the two movies.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’ Earns $41M Over The Weekend With ‘Dune: Part Two’ Announcement Incoming

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has finally been unleashed domestically after an international launch weeks prior and the dense sci-fi has achieved a big hurdle, making a solid amount of money at the domestic box office during the opening weekend.

According to Bloomberg, the film has earned an impressive $41 million domestically over the weekend, putting the film’s global cume to $223.2 million with Dune’s production being said to have cost $165 million.

It’s the best domestic opening for Warner Bros. since 2019’s Joker and has surpassed every other pandemic era film including things like Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984 (Wonder Woman 3 already in development), Godzilla Vs. Kong, Space Jam: Legacy, Mortal Kombat, and The Suicide Squad.

We already know that Dune: Part Two has been in development for the better part of two years with Villeneuve co-writing the script with Jon Spaihts, the latter exiting the HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood to focus on the sequel. A clear sign the project was a priority for Legendary.

Denis Villeneuve has talked up the potential of starting production in the fall of 2022, a director wouldn’t normally mention a start date for filming unless there was already prep in certain stages already.

WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff has all but said that they’re planning on moving forward, but as Variety points out it’s, apparently, Legendary’s call and the next installment could be announced very soon.

Why Legendary has yet to unveil plans for a sequel remains ambiguous, though an announcement could come shortly, according to insiders.

While they could stop at two movies, Villeneuve has considered the idea of pushing towards a trilogy by using Dune Messiah as the basis of the third movie.

“There is Dune’s second book, The Messiah of Dune, which could make an extraordinary film. I always saw that there could be a trilogy; after that, we’ll see. It’s years of work; I can’t think of going further than that.”

The second installment would allow for more casting additions with roles such as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Princess Irulan, Shaddam IV The Padishah Emperor, and others. Since those characters are being saved and allowed for Dune to give newbies a crash course on the franchise’s deep mythology.

A late 2022 shoot likely means we won’t see Dune: Part Two released until 2023-2024.

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

Posted on in Film News, News

Denis Villeneuve Might Consider Tackling Batman & Arkham Asylum

Dune director Denis Villeneuve made his thoughts public on both superhero films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, doesn’t seem to dislike everything about the genre and has an affection for one particular superhero.

During a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the French-Canadian filmmaker revealed that Batman is the only comic book character he could “relate to” suggesting he’d be open to tackling him in the future.

“Batman would be probably the only character that I could relate to. From what I read, like ‘Arkham Asylum,’ a book like that, I got in contact with when I was an adult. It’s for me, the character that I could connect to.”

Villeneuve is already in the scripting phase of Dune: Part Two and has mentioned a potential fall 2022 production start, assumed to take place in Budapest again. He’s started talking up his desire for a third Dune movie to round-out a trilogy, adapting the second book, Dune Messiah.

After Villeneuve’s public comments on WarnerMedia/Warner Bros. Pictures it’s unclear if Batman will ever land on his lap with Matt Reeves currently tackling a trilogy of films starring Robert Pattinson. Interestingly enough, Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film would have focused on Arkham Asylum.

Dune will hit theaters 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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: HAPPY SAD CONFUSED PODCAST

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’: Denis Villeneuve Would Consider Adapting ‘Dune Messiah’ For A Trilogy & Confirms Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen Won’t Appear In First Movie

While director Denis Villeneuve is already in the scripting phase of Dune: Part Two and mentioning a potential fall 2022 production start, assumed to take place in Budapest again. He’s started talking up his desire for a third Dune movie to round-out a trilogy, as he mentioned to Radio Canada (spotted by The Playlist) he could see Frank Hebert’s Dune Messiah (the second installment) making an “extraordinary film.”

“There is ‘Dune’s second book, The Messiah of Dune, which could make an extraordinary film. I always saw that there could be a trilogy; after that, we’ll see. It’s years of work; I can’t think of going further than that.”

Below is a rundown of the second book.

“Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known–and feared–as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne–and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty…”

The director also confirmed that Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen won’t be showing up in Dune during his lengthy interview with Total Film. Feyd is the nephew of Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and pretty much takes the role of Paul’s rival in the space opera.

“The book is so rich. There are so many fantastic details about the different cultures. In order to preserve and have the time to bring that to the screen, we had to make important choices. It was a powerful image, that jockstrap.”

Dune is still set to be released on October 22 in theaters and HBO Max.

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: RADIO CANADA & TOTAL FILM

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‘Dune’: Denis Villeneuve Says ‘Dune: Part Two’ Will See Zendaya’s Chani As The Protagonist

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

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Dune’ Prequel Series ‘Dune: The Sisterhood’ Lands New Showrunner Diane Ademu-John; Denis Villeneuve To Direct Pilot

You might remember that Legendary and HBO Max would be partnering for a spinoff series set within the Dune universe acting as a prequel to the upcoming film helmed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival, Prisoners, Blade Runner: 2049). The show, Dune: The Sisterhood, originally had Dune co-writer Jon Spaihts set to showrun the project, but exited to help work on Dune: Part Two.

Dune: The Sisterhood is told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit. Given extraordinary abilities by their mastery of the body and the mind, the Bene Gesserit expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium, pursuing plans of their own that will ultimately lead them to the enigmatic planet Arrakis, known to its inhabitants as Dune. It will serve as a prequel to the films.

A new report from Variety has revealed that they have hired Diane Ademu-John as the new showrunner of the the sci-fi series at HBO Max. She has previously worked on shows such as The Haunting of Bly Manor, Empire, The Originals, and The Vampire Diaries.

Denis Villeneuve is a producer on Dune: The Sisterhood and will still direct the pilot.

Dune, of course, is coming soon with a release date of October 22 as it will hit both theaters and HBO Max on that date.

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: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News, News, Trailers

TRAILER: Sci-Fi Epic ‘Dune’ Is Coming October 22; Fight Like Demons

Today, Warner Bros. has released the main trailer for Denis Villleneuve’s Dune, based on the first half of the classic Frank Herbert sci-fi fantasy novel. It will hit both theaters and HBO Max on October 22 with Legendary hoping that it will turn into a franchise as a sequel covering the second half of the book in already in development and an HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood has been announced as well.

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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: WARNERMEDIA