After the official announcement of the development of “Dune 2”, Denis Villeneuve is already looking ahead and expressing his wish to make a third film, based on Frank Herbert’s novel “Le Messie de Dune”.
The SF blockbuster of the year
Presented as a world preview at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, the film Dune by Denis Villeneuve met expectations. Critical expectations on the one hand, with a press overall very seduced by the work of the Canadian (our review here). On the global box office side, it has grossed more than $ 223 million in revenue, a very good score if we consider the constraints imposed by the health crisis and its simultaneous broadcast in theaters and on HBO Max in certain territories. Fantastic, monumental, stunning, the SF blockbuster will have a sequel, which was in the original plans but still had to wait for public validation. It’s done, and it’s now official: the development of the second film has started.
A third film already considered
Frank Herbert’s work is a “Cycle”. The novelist wrote two more, the “Cycle of the Consciousness Program” and the “Cycle of the Saboteurs”. His most famous, the “Dune Cycle” therefore, is composed of six novels : Dune, The Messiah of Dune, Children of Dune, The Emperor-God of Dune, The Heretics of Dune and The Mother’s House.
The already released film is an adaptation of the first part of the first novel, and the second film in development will adapt its second part. And already Denis Villeneuve, in an interview given to Entertainment Weekly, evokes a third film, which would be an adaptation of the second novel :
I have always considered three films. It is not the will to make a franchise, but it is Dune, and it’s a gigantic story. To honor it, I think it would take at least three films. It would be the dream. Following Paul Atreides throughout his story arc would be great. (…) Herbert wrote six books, and the more he wrote, the more psychedelic it got. So I don’t know if some could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I already have the chance to do Dune 2 and The Messiah of Dune, I am blessed.
We do not make the call of the foot clearer! And to follow the path of Paul Atréides is also to follow that of his official concubine, the Fremen Chani. It is therefore for Warner studios to project films centered on the characters played by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. Two young great talents and already planetary icons who, barring any mishap, should dominate cinema for years to come.
Our interview with Denis Villeneuve and Rebecca Ferguson can be found below.
