Any film fan who thought Dune lacked on the action front will be happy with the upcoming sequel, at least according to director Denis Villeneuve. In a new interview with Total Film magazine, Villeneuve touted the 2024 sequel as “more muscular” than the first installment, which is due out in 2021.
“The first film was more meditative and contemplative. We followed a young man discovering a new planet, a new culture,” Villeneuve said. “The second film… it’s more of an action film than the first. It’s more muscular.”
“Dune: Part Two” will definitely look more muscular than the first film because it was shot entirely with IMAX cameras, as opposed to the 35-40% of footage shot in IMAX for “Part One”. The original grossed $402 million worldwide and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won Oscars for original score, sound, film editing, cinematography, production design and visual effects.
Villeneuve’s original Dune cast – Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem – all return for the second chapter. Newcomers to the franchise include Christopher Walken, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Léa Seydoux.
The official “Dune: Part Two” synopsis from Warner Bros. and Legendary reads: “This sequel will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Faced with a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he struggles to prevent a terrible future that only he can foresee”.
In a recent interview with Empire, Villeneuve shared his hopes for a third installment in the sci-fi epic, saying, “If I can make a trilogy, that would be the dream.
On his ‘Dune: Part Three” progress, Villeneuve teased, “I will say there are words on paper.” The project would be based on “Dune Messiah”, the direct sequel to the 1965 original novel by “Dune” author Frank Herbert.
Warner Bros. and Legendary recently moved up the release date for “Dune: Part Two” release date to 1 March 2023. The sequel was originally scheduled for release on November 3, but was pushed back to March 15, 2024 in the midst of the Hollywood strikes to allow the cast to promote the film. The new date is two weeks earlier.
