Dune Director Reacts to Deadpool & Wolverine Popcorn Bucket

Dune: Part Two director Denis Villenueve had some funny words for the Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket. The filmmaker acknowledges Ryan Reynolds’ attempt to start a concessions stand war. But, he’s still rolling with the Dune: Part Two bucket despite a strong try from Marvel Studios. eTalk CTV caught up with Villenueve this week to ask about the latest bit of popcorn news. Yes, the Dune director has seen the lewd Wolverine bucket set to accompany the MCU’s new blockbuster. But, he questions if the sequel is ever as good as the first entry. (He’s being playful in that regard.) For the filmmaker, seeing Deadpool & Wolverine, the movie of the Summer by all projections, aping what they did with Dune: Part Two is flattering. But, Villenueve doesn’t think they can reach the instant meme status the previous popcorn bucket did.

Check out the director’s fun response right here. “They are jealous of our bucket and they are doing their best to try try and bring something horrific into the world. But, the Dune bucket is unmatchable,” Villeneuve argued. “I’m not saying I don’t like the bucket. I’m just saying it was difficult to beat the Dune bucket. It was like one of a kind.”

Popcorn Buckets Have Taken Over The Cinemas

Over the last few years, the collectibles market has exploded all over culture. A lot of the stuff we cover here at ComicBook has re-entered the public consciousness like figures, video games, tabletop games, toys of all kinds, Pokemon cards, and of course comic books themselves. All this fervor saw theater chains embracing the collectible hysteria. After the Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket hit social media, people just couldn’t stop joking about it. With all that attention, sales went through the roof. It’s caused enough of a stir that AMC Theatres Chief Content Officer Elizabeth Frank told Variety that it’s made them completely re-evaluate what’s going on with those food and drink offerings. 

“We continue to learn and evolve. We would have never imagined the Dune thing. We would have never created it knowing it would be celebrated or mocked,” Frank recalled. “Absolutely,” she added when asked if the SNL sketch felt like a “seal of approval.” “And you couldn’t make it happen if you wanted to. It wouldn’t be fair to pull our creative talent aside to say, ‘We hope it makes SNL.’”

“Some fans are collectors. There’s another group of people who are specific film fans, buying three different Ghostbusters products. It’s all a mix. It’s a material part of our food and beverage business, but it’s not the majority of it. It also makes the movies more fun. It’s like going home from a concert with a T-shirt. There is a lot of creative energy from it,” she would add of fan reaction.

Which popcorn bucket do you think is better? Deadpool or Dune? Let us know down in the comments!