Denis Villeneuve Discusses DUNE: PART II Being a Movie About Love and War
As soon as Denis Villeneuve took on the challenge of adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune into a film, the fans knew that the story was in good hands. He did an incredible job with the first movie, and fans can’t wait to see the epic next chapter of the story. Too bad the movie got delayed until March of 2024! I was really excited and looking forward to watching this movie this year!
During a recent interview with Empire, Villeneuve talks about Dune: Part Two, which he’s deep in post-production on. He starts off by saying:
“The movie is alive! Part One was like the promise of something, but Part Two delivers on that. I’m exhausted, but a happy director.”
The next film 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 filmmaker goes on to talk about how this next chapter of the story is about love and war, saying:
“The first movie was more contemplative – a young man discovering a world. Here, it’s a war movie. At the very core is a love story between Paul and Chani. How Paul will gain her trust, how she will open her heart to him, and how they will find a way to free Chani’s world from the Harkonnen grip. It’s a much more emotional movie.
This second part of the film is definitely where things get into the real meat of the story and the characters. While the first Dune movie was great, this sequel is going to be incredible! The filmmaker went on to talk about Timothée Chalamet and the evolution of his character Paul Atreides in this next film saying:
“I remember when I was doing Part One, I kept saying to Timothée, ‘No, you’re just Paul.’ Because he was reaching for Muad’Dib. He was looking forward to becoming that hero and I was pushing the brakes. He has the power to change things, but he knows that if he does so, it will create an astronomical amount of violence and he will become a kind of dictator. He’s trying to find a way to avoid that ominous future – that’s the burden upon his shoulders.” Strap in: Dune only gets bigger from here.”
Dune only gets bigger from here! Plus Villeneuve is already developing Dune: Part Three, so we have that to look forward to as well!
The returning cast also includes Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. New cast members include Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.
Villeneuve previously talked about the movie, saying he wanted this movie to have a lot of heart, and he wanted to make a very human film. He explained: “I wanted to make a very human movie, very close to the characters, despite the scope of the film. I kept saying to my crew, ‘The most important thing is that spark, that relationship between both of these characters.’ If we don’t capture that, if we don’t have that onscreen, there’s no movie. The epicenter of the story is this relationship.”