Dune Director Teases Sequel, Franchise's Future

By Jamie Jirak

Shortly after Dune was released last year, it was announced that the movie would be getting a sequel, and possibly a third installment. Dune is nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and its success has fans eager for more. Recently, it was revealed that the sequel's script was finished, and casting rumors are starting to pour in. Director Denis Villeneuve spoke to Deadline at the PGA Awards this week and shared a tease about Dune: Part Two.

"It's going to be another beautiful journey in the desert again," Villeneuve shared. "It's the journey where Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, make contact with the Fremen culture and meet with the Fremen," he added. "It's Paul's journey against the enemy ... It's a movie that will be more cinematic."

This week, Villeneuve also promised that the Dune sequel will feature more Zendaya. 

"For Zendaya, I will say Part One was a promise. I know that we saw a glimpse of her in Part One, but in Part Two, she'll have a prominent part. We will follow Timothée and Zendaya on their adventures in the desert. That's the thing that excited me most about going back to Arrakis is to spend time with those characters again," Villeneuve shared with Variety.

During the conversation, the director also teased a Dune: Part Two scene that will be difficult to get right. "It involves sandworms that's going to be one of the beautiful challenges of my life. And I know if I do it right, that will be the scene," Villeneuve teased.

As for the pressure he feels while developing the follow-up film, Villeneuve recently confessed, "The first one, it was more to make sure that we will land in the world and that the movie will be accepted. Now it's to make sure that we can close that first book, so it's like there's some premises that are in the first movie that I need to ignore. So yeah, I think I would say there's more pressure with the second one in some ways.

The first Dune's official synopsis reads, "A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive."

Dune is now streaming on HBO Max. Dune: Part 2 is currently scheduled to be released on October 20, 2023.

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