‘Dune’ News: Denis Villeneuve Reportedly Planning a Trilogy, Max’s ‘The Sisterhood’ Finds Two New Actresses and Director
On the heels of the second trailer for Dune: Part Two there have been some very interesting developments coming from Arrakis.
On the one hand, in Deadline‘s report about the new trailer, which dropped Thursday, it’s mentioned that Part Two will be the “second pic in a planned three-film saga based on Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel”. Nothing is confirmed at this point, however, and it may as well have been a mistake on Deadline‘s part, but Denis Villeneuve had mentioned shortly after the release of the first movie that he “had always envisioned three movies”, meaning he would love to adapt Herbert’s sequel book to Dune, Dune: Messiah. He told Entertainment Weekly:
“I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.
Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic. So I don’t know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I’m blessed.”
This topic will certainly come up during the press tour for the second film, which promises to be Warner Bros.’ big event of the fall. The second film was supposedly only going to happen if the box office was there for the first, though it’s probably clear at this point that Villeneuve had brokered the deal to return even before the first film came out, as the studio was, at the time, trying to salvage any remaining relationship they had with their filmmakers after short-handing them by releasing their 2021 films day-and-date on Max without notice.
Now, more than ever, Dune: Part Two must succeed if Villeneuve wants to complete a trilogy and Paul’s full arc. The first film grossed $400M worldwide on a $165M budget — it made its investment back, including the marketing money spent on it. However, if everything goes well, the second film should be poised to outgross the first, both because the name is now an established one with our modern-day moviegoing audience, but also because it has an inherently larger scope and feels like it will bring some conclusion to the story set up in the 2021 pic. Also, having young adult sensation Zendaya as the true co-star of the film, as well as additions like Florence Pugh or Austin Butler, shouldn’t hurt.
(L-R) Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani in Dune: Part Two. Image via Vanity Fair.
In other news, though, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking for other ways to expand the franchise. They began principal photography on a streaming series titled Dune: The Sisterhood late last year, but it suffered from behind-the-scenes troubles that involved the departure of director Johan Renck and lead actress Shirley Henderson.
According to Deadline, the project is gearing back up with two new actresses joining the project, as well as a director. Olivia Williams will now play Tula Harkonnen following Henderson’s exit. Indira Varma, who had signed on to star as Empress Natalya, will be departing the series due to a scheduling conflict caused by the delay of production. The Witcher‘s Jodhi May is stepping in.
Additionally, Anna Foerster (Underworld: Blood Wars) is stepping in to direct multiple episodes, including the premiere. The storyline will be adapted from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s novel Sisterhood of Dune, and set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides. It will follow the Harkonnen Sisters as they fight for the destiny of humankind and establish the mysterious organization known as the Bene Gesserit.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
