Dune trilogy likely
ARRAKIS may be seen in a sequel after Dune: Part Two releases next year.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, director Denis Villeneuve revealed that he hopes to continue journeying through Arrakis in a third movie based on Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah.
“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream,” he told the publication about bringing to life Herbert’s Dune follow-up.
“Dune Messiah was written in reaction to the fact that people perceived Paul Atreides as a hero, which is not what [Herbert] wanted to do. My adaptation [of Dune] is closer to his idea that it’s actually a warning.”
Villeneuve explained he would say goodbye to Arrakis after a third Dune film and move on to other projects. That said, a sequel to Part Two has not been greenlit.
The sequel will pick up where the first film ended, with Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) reaching Chani (Zendaya) and joining forces with the Fremen to bring down the evil Harkonnens.
Joining Part Two as part of Dune’s growing cast will be an albino Austin Butler as Feyd Rautha, whom Villeneuve has described as an “Olympic sword master crossed with a psychotic serial killer”, Christopher Walken as the emperor, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan Corrino, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot and Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli.
During April’s CinemaCon, Villeneuve explained that extra effort was made to differentiate the sequel from the first film.
“Part One is more of a contemplative movie. Part Two is an action-packed, epic war movie. It is much more dense. We went to all new locations,” he said.
“I didn’t want a feeling of repetition. It’s all new sets. Everything is new.”
Originally slated for release in cinemas on Nov 3, Dune: Part Two has been pushed back to March 15 next year due to the current actors strikes.