The Dune 2 director says Timothee Chalamet’s Paul is now the villain

With his Dune films, director Denis Villeneuve tries to do what even Frank Herbert couldn’t do: make Paul Atreides the villain

When Polygon sat down with Villeneuve about the adaptation dune About two films, he said the goal was always to film the story that author Frank Herbert wanted to convey to his audience, a story that showed the dangers of charismatic leaders and fanaticism. Oh, and he’s working on the script for a third installment that hasn’t been approved yet.

Read on for our conversation with Villeneuve about how strange it is dune The back half of the story explores the conundrum of what to keep and what to discard in an adaptation, and his thoughts on whether the conclusion to his Dune trilogy – Dune Messiah – is coming to cinemas.

[Ed. note: This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.]

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The paradox of dune is that it is a story about humanity, but told through a human society so far in the future that it might as well be an alien one. A lot of the truly alien stuff is in the second half of duneand it feels like you enjoyed immersing yourself in strange environments, strange events and strange characters.

Denis Villeneuve: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. In a way, part One was a slow introduction, gentle. As the main character, the camera was directly over Paul Atredies’ shoulder, and we slowly discovered a planet and discovered the ends of the Fremen culture. But it was very gentle. The second film is much more muscular. He falls into the river [laughs] He’s really immersed in this culture and becomes a warrior. It’s much more of an action film. It allowed me – because the story is simpler in some ways – to go deeper and learn more about Fremen culture and Harkonnen culture. That was so much fun for me as a director.

Was it just the events of the book or was it the success? Dune: Part One also to have more room for expansion?

Rather, because of the way we structured both films, a lot of exposure was required part One. And this representation gave me more freedom Second partdefinitely.

When you customize something as dense as dune They make a lot of decisions about what details should be included in the film, what will be touched upon briefly, and what may not be present at all. Were there any guiding principles for you in determining what to include in the book?

My guiding principles were Frank Herbert’s intentions. Especially for [Dune]He was disappointed with how people perceived the story. He felt that people misunderstood Paul Atreides; that people saw him as a hero when he wanted to do the opposite. In response, he wrote: Dune Messiah to insist on the idea that Paul was a dangerous figure and that the first book was more of a cautionary tale or more of a warning about the current charismatic leaders. Knowing that it gave me a lot of information about how to approach this second film to make sure I realized all of Frank Herbert’s original intentions.

You’ve expressed that you really want to do it Dune Messiah as a film, although nothing is certain yet. It seems so daunting to set aside parts of a story, perhaps ones you really like, for a next installment when you’re not sure you’ll get it. Did you have problems with thinking? If I don’t put it here, I might never get it done?

Oh, no, no, no, no, no. When you make films, it’s always a gamble. But I don’t see it that way. [Co-writer] Jon Spaihts and I when we wrote this [Dune Part One] When we wrote the script, we believed this was the most precise and elegant way to convey the story we wanted to tell in this book. So when I did it Second partI was completely focused on this film and put all my energy into it. For all the films I make in my life, I try to make the film as if it were the last. That’s the only way to really make films, especially because of the amount of energy I put into these films, the best way to do it Okay, this is the last one, so I gave it my all. You never know what the future will consist of. Of course I threw in a few Easter eggs, a projection of the future, just like I did part One for Second partand for Second part I did the same. There are some tiny clues [about] What could be Dune Messiah but it is very subtle.

Photo: Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.

Are you confident that you can do it? Dune Messiah? Or is it too early to say?

I say this because I just finished Second part I’m still digesting the experience, I’m currently doing press work. But the more time passes, I think the desire to do it increases if we have a strong script. We are currently working on it and are inspired. I think we have something strong, but when I’ll do it – whether it’s my next film or the film after that, I can’t know. I will know when the script will be ready.

What is the biggest thing you learned about Frank Herbert’s book from working on these films?

How forward-looking he was back then. He was like the prophet who spoke alone in the desert, and today all the issues and warnings he spoke are more relevant than before. When you think about climate, or the danger of mixing religion and politics, or the danger of leader charisma and the power of AI, the danger of AI, fanaticism. Unfortunately, it has become more and more relevant over time.