Denis Villeneuve Says WB Didn't Let Him Shoot First 2 Dune Films Back-To-Back

It's no secret that Denis Villeneuve was never going to stop with just one Dune movie. The Sicario director has always been vocal about his plan to create a trilogy for Frank Herbert's works. However, Warner Bros. was also determined to keep the filmmaker on a leash. Villeneuve has revealed that the studio stopped him from filming two Dune movies back-to-back.

Dune is set to be one of the biggest films this year, as confirmed by the grand scale teased in the film's trailers. We wouldn't expect anything less from Villeneuve but there's another reason why the Blade Runner 2049 director poured everything into the project.

Villeneuve recently spoke to Variety where he revealed that he had wanted to shoot two Dune movies at the same time. However, Warner Bros. only greenlighted the first film.

"I wanted at the beginning to do the two parts simultaneously," Villeneuve said. "For several reasons, it didn't happen, and I agreed to the challenge of making part one and then wait to see if the movie rings enough enthusiasm."

It might not be how he planned to work on his Dune movies but Villeneuve took the challenge. "As I was doing the first part, I really put all my passion into it, in case it would be the only one. But I'm optimistic," he said.

The idea of just one Dune film being made isn't a happy thought for fans but it's clearly something that Warner Bros. wants, at least for now. Some believe that the studio didn't want to produce two movies right away because of the possible budget. On the other hand, some fans think WB wanted to wait and see just how much money the first movie will make before greenlighting its sequel.

Dune boasts of an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. The film is scheduled for release in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.

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