DUNE Director Denis Villeneuve Says The Sequel Will Be "The Main Meal"

The upcoming Dune film is the first of a trilogy that director Denis Villeneuve has planned and he is pretty far along on the development of the second film. During a recent interview with SFX Magazine, the filmmaker shared that the script for the sequel is relatively well advanced and says that it could start filming next autumn. 

Villeneuve says he should know by December if the Dune sequel will happen and adds that it would have to go "really badly" for it not to happen. Meaning that audiences don’t show up to theaters to watch the first film. There’s a lot of hype and excitement for Dune and fans have been excitedly waiting to see it. I really hope that audiences show up to theaters to watch it!

There are rumors going around, started by Jason Momoa, that there is a six-hour cut of the Dune film, but the director says that’s not the case. He goes on to say that the theatrical version of the film released in theaters is the one and only cut of the film, and adds, "I have never done a director's cut of any of my films."

The filmmaker goes on to say that the film is "a love letter to the big screen" and that while it's the biggest, and most challenging movie he's ever made, Dune is just “an appetizer for the second part still to come.” He then describes the second part as "the main meal."

As for the possible third film, Villeneuve could keep the party going with the second book in the Dune series. The director says, "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."

Dune is set to hit theaters and HBO Max on October 22nd.