Dune Director Denis Villeneuve Says Marvel Movies Are Cut & Paste of Other Films

Dune director Denis Villeneuve said that Marvel movies are a “cut & paste of other films” in a recent interview with El Mundo. Now, he’s not the first filmmaker to criticize what the House of Ideas is doing with their Cinematic Universe, and he won’t be the last. Specifically, the director said, “There are too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a cut and paste of others.” Villeneuve has also been adamant about people seeing his films on the largest screen possible, rather than the day and date release model that other Warner Bros. pictures have had since the pandemic began. But, this time, he seems to be taking aim at the tone of some of the Marvel movies in a critique that wouldn’t be out of place on Twitter or Reddit when it comes to how the “Marvel formula” is deployed. Some are probably going to agree with him and MCU fans are going to defend their favorite movies. Villeneuve definitely has a right to his opinion and feels conviction in the argument he lays out. But, the Internet will surely debate this entire question into the ground before the day is over.

Villeneuve spoke to Total Film recently about how optimistic he is that they will be able to make a Part Two for Dune. This is not a man lacking in confidence.

“We have been hearing in the past few decades that it’s not possible to adapt this book, and that it’s an impossible task. I think that in the back of the mind of the studio, it’s still the same!” Villeneuve told Total Film. “So the first thing was to prove that there was a beautiful, popular movie that can exist, and I think that I proved that – everybody at Warner Bros and Legendary, they are 100 percent behind the project. They feel that it would need a really bad outcome at the box office to not have a Dune: Part Two, because they love the movie. They are proud of the movie, so they want the movie to move forward. And they still did half of it. So, you know, I’m very optimistic.”

In some further comments, the director went on to reveal that he’s already begun writing the screenplay for Part Two. Villeneuve seems to genuinely love that part of the process.

“I’m writing [Part Two] now, and I feel like I’m eight years old again,” he continued. “That’s very uncommon for me. It’s the first time I’ve experienced it where I’m watching one of my movies, and I have a moment of deep gratitude, of deep joy, and I say, ‘Thank you, life, for having allowed me to bring that to the screen.’ [laughs] I don’t know how other people will feel about it. But me? Denis Villeneuve when he was 14 years old? Thank you.”

How do you feel about his take? Let us know down in the comments!