Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation Dune was a hit with both fans and critics alike, though one of the criticisms that it earned was that it was only the first half of Frank Herbert’s original novel and that it didn’t feel complete. Luckily, the filmmaker recently confirmed to Empire Magazine that not only will the movie make good on the bombastic potential of all-out war between communities, but will also embrace the love story between Paul and Chani. Dune: Part Two was originally slated to hit theaters in November but was recently pushed back to March 14, 2024.
“Part One was like the promise of something, but Part Two delivers on that,” Villeneuve shared with the outlet. “I’m exhausted, but a happy director.”
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He continued, “The first movie was more contemplative — a young man discovering a world. Here, it’s a war movie … At the very core is a love story between Paul and Chani … How Paul will gain her trust, how she will open her heart to him, and how they will find a way to free Chani’s world from the Harkonnen grip. It’s a much more emotional movie.”
While some audiences might have been frustrated that the complete story wasn’t told in the 2021 movie, David Lynch previously brought the book to life as a movie in 1984, with that adaptation falling short of expectations due to the overstuffed nature of the plot being condensed into one feature film.
Unlike other adaptations of extended narratives, the two Dune movies were filmed separately as opposed to being filmed during one extended production. This meant that Villeneuve would have to throttle his actors so they only focused on the actual story they were bringing to life as opposed to considering the ultimate fate of their characters.
“I remember when I was doing Part One, I kept saying to Timothée [Chalamet], ‘No, you’re just Paul.’ Because he was reaching for Muad’Dib. He was looking forward to becoming that hero and I was pushing the brakes,” the director joked. “He has the power to change things, but he knows that if he does so, it will create an astronomical amount of violence and he will become a kind of dictator. He’s trying to find a way to avoid that ominous future — that’s the burden upon his shoulders.”
Dune: Part Two is set to hit theaters on March 14, 2024.
Are you looking forward to the sequel? Let us know in the comments!
