Oscars 2022: Dune Wins Big at the Academy Awards Before the Show Even Started

In a controversial change at this year's Oscars, the Academy for Motion Picture Art and Sciences opted to bump a whole group of categories from the simulcast in hopes of cutting down on its runtime. In total, eight categories were bumped to pre-ceremony festivities, and Dune nearly won them all.

Out of the eight categories Academy officials went through before the prime time event began, the Denis Villeneuve film won four of them, including Best Production Design (Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipod), Best Film Editing (Joe Walker), Best Sound (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett), and Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer). Furthermore, during the ceremony itself, Dune cinematographer Greig Fraser won his first Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Before line, Villeneuve and the rest of the crew on Dune will reassemble and begin filming a direct sequel for Warner Brothers.

"It's gonna be intense," Villeneuve said during an event celebrating Canadian Oscar nominees. "I'm in prep right now. Monday morning, as soon as we leave Los Angeles, it will be to start to go on with prep.

"I cannot say nothing about the movie – I don't like to talk about projects as I am doing them – but it's probably going to be the biggest challenge of my career, again, because it's even more complex than Part One

Elsewhere, the filmmaker teased the sequel will be just the beginning for the studio's latest franchise.

"It's going to be another beautiful journey in the desert again," Villeneuve said while speaking about the sequel at the PGA Awards. "It's the journey where Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, make contact with the Fremen culture and meet with the Fremen. It's Paul's journey against the enemy ... It's a movie that will be more cinematic."

Dune is now streaming on HBO Max while Dune: Part Two opens in theaters on October 20th, 2023.

What other sci-fi franchises would you like to be seen make the jump to the silver screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!