Dune 2 To Include Much More Harkonnen Stuff, Plans To Start Filming Before End Of This Summer

Dune 2 is set to include a lot more Harkonnen material and plans to start filming before the end of this Summer. All of this information comes from Denis Villeneuve himself in the pages of Empire Magazine. The director sat down with them to discuss the follow-up to his blockbuster. Things are going to get weird in Dune 2. There's no question that the director decided to cut some things up in his first trip to this universe. Villeneuve talked about having to make hard decisions to capture his vision for the novel. Some of the more esoteric and strange concepts from Dune had to be pushed to the sequel in order for the first out to appeal to a wide audience. 

Clearly some measure of that gambit worked as Dune was wildly successful for Warner Bros. But, in the second entry, you're going to have a lot more fans who want to see the stranger side of Frank Herbert's world. Luckily for them, it seems like Villeneuve is only too happy to oblige. Check out what he said down below.

"It's like a chess game. Some new characters will be introduced in the second part and a decision I made very early on was that this first part would be more about Paul Atreides and the Bene Gesserit, and his experience of being in contact for the first time with a different culture," explained Villeneuve. "Second part, there will be much more Harkonnen stuff."

He added, "When you adapt, you have to make bold choices in order for the things to come to life. And I think that was the best way to introduce this world to a wide audience. Now in the second one, I want to have more flexibility, and it will be possible to go a little bit deeper into some of these details."

Elsewhere in this interview, Villeneuve talked about the schedule for shooting this year. As long as nothing unexpected happens, things should be moving along nicely by the end of 2022.

"We are supposed to shoot by the end of the summer," he revealed. "I will say it is mostly designed. The thing that helps us right now is that it's the first time I've revisited a universe. So I'm working with the same crew, everybody knows what to do, we know what it will look like. The movie will be more challenging, but we know where we are stepping. And the screenplay is written. So I feel confident. Frankly, the only big unknown for me right now is the pandemic."

Are you excited about more Dune? Let us know down in the comments below!