A third Dune movie ‘makes sense’, says director Denis Villeneuve

Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros have greenlit a second ‘Dune’ movie

Dune director Denis Villeneuve is toying with the idea of turning his feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction book series into a trilogy.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the 54-year-old filmmaker said a third film in the Dune franchise “makes sense” to him.

Starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson, Villeneuve’s movie chronicles the first half of Herbert’s 1965 cult classic of the same name.

The film was released in cinemas across the world on 22 October and raked in $40.1m in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North America, making this the best domestic opening for any of Warner Bros’s hybrid releases ever. Dune was released simultaneously on HBO Max as well.

Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros have confirmed a sequel to the movie, titled Dune: Part Two, which will cover the remainder of the first book and will release on 20 October 2023.

Chalamet also confirmed the sequel had been given the green light and shared a poster for Dune: Part Two on his social media.

The sequel will enjoy an exclusive, 45-day theatrical window – something that was a “non-negotiable condition” for the director.

Villeneuve believes the theatrical experience is at the “very heart of the cinematic language”.

“I love streaming. I use streaming all the time. But I still think that contemporary movies need to have their chance. All movies need to have proper time in theatres (cinemas),” he said.

If things go well with the sequel, the filmmaker said he “could foresee the idea of maybe doing Dune Messiah”.

“That would make sense to me,” he said.

Dune Messiah is the second book in Herbert’s series of six novels. It was released four years after Dune and picks up 12 years after the events in the first book.

“After that,” Villeneuve said, “I think that I will make some other movies — let’s call them big movies, regarding their ambition and scope.”

Movies like Dune, that Villeneuve has the energy to make right now. “When I’m too tired to do that, I will go back to some smaller projects.”

The Independent, in its review, has said the French-Canadian filmmaker’s cinematic, sci-fi adventure is “of such literal and emotional largeness that it overwhelms the senses”.