Dune might have just had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, but director Denis Villeneuve is already thinking about its sequel. In a recent roundtable discussion, the Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker expressed confidence in his plan to adapt the second half of Frank Herbert’s iconic space drama.
"When you make a movie in two parts,” explains the director, “when you do the first part you have to know what you're going to do in the second part. So I will say that I will be very ready to go quite quickly." This is far from surprising news given how expansive both the source material and Villeneuve’s adaptation of it is.
With this in mind, Villenueve says Dune 2 is essentially ready to go, awaiting a greenlight from Warner Bros.. When asked about his plans for a continuation, he acknowledges the work that would need to be done before filming could commence. "To go quickly in a movie of that size,” he explains, “you still need to make sets, costumes, so we are talking about months.” However, he revealed just how planned out his vision for Dune 2 is:
“...If ever there's enthusiasm and the movie is green lit sooner than later, I will say that I will be ready to shoot in 2022, for sure. 2022, for sure. I would love to because I am ready to go, and I will say that I would love to bring it to the screen as soon as possible."
This, of course, hinges on whether or not Warner Bros. signs off on the continuation. With a budget of $165 million dollars and the massive hype surrounding it, the first half of Villeneuve’s vision could have to make major bank for a sequel to be greenlit. No pressure.
Dune’s next stop is its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11th. Afterward, it’ll arrive in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22nd.