Denis Villeneuve Calls ‘Dune: Part Two’ A “Dark Tragedy,” Talks Potential ‘Messiah’ Sequel & More [Interview]

Having grossed nearly $375 million at the worldwide box office ($362 million so far), Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” appears to be a big success, even though it apparently needs to hit the $500 million mark to break even. Ah, movie math.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Dune: Part Two” features one of the starriest casts in recent memory. From Timothée Chalamet to Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista and more, there’s rarely a scene in the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel that isn’t filled with star power. The cast was supposed to be even bigger, however, but the filmmaker had to make some cuts to the final edit that left at least one actor “heartbroken.” Tim Blake Nelson, a regular of the Coen Brothers thanks to films such as “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” was announced as a cast member for “Dune: Part Two” in January 2023.

If we’re going to praise the visual rapture of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies—and we should—and in particular, the newly released “Dune: Part Two,” there’s no conversation that can happen without mention of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser, who won his first Oscar for “Dune” in 2022. READ MORE: Denis Villeneuve Calls ‘Dune: Part Two’ A “Dark Tragedy,” Talks Potential ‘Messiah’ Sequel & More [Interview] While “Dune: Part Two” is genuinely unanimously praised by critics (read our review here)—and this weekend, it grossed $178.5 million worldwide, and with $81 domestic, that’s the biggest opening since “Barbie”— it does have a small group of detractors.

Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve has defended the film’s lengthy running time amid debates about whether or not films are getting too long.The sci-fi epic has clocked up a running time of 2 hours and 46 minutes, just slightly longer than the first instalment of the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel, which was 2 hours and 35 minutes long.It’s been noted that films have gradually been getting longer in the last decade, sparking a debate about how necessary that is. It picked up pace in particular last year with the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon, which were three hours and three and a half hours long respectively.Now, Villeneuve has had his say on the matter.

Legendary Entertainment/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two came in higher with an $82.5M opening. That’s all thanks to a higher than anticipated Sunday of $21.65M versus $20.3M.

*Some spoilers ahead for “Dune: Part Two” in the following article, beware.” When adapting a rich sci-fi fantasy literary franchise as dense and epic as the scale of Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” some things just won’t be able to make the feature film adaptation. As you may have noticed if you saw this film this weekend, there are a few elements seen in the David Lynch incarnation that didn’t make it into director Denis Villeneuve’s two-part incarnation, such as the Spicing Guild and Navigator (A mutated clairvoyant that warns The Emperor of House Atreties and Paul Atreteies becoming a threat to them).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent For “Dune: Part Two,” Denis Villeneuve delved deep into the Arabian desert and spent almost a month shooting in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Oasis, which provided a substantial portion of the landscape of the desert planet Arrakis, home to the monstrous sandworms. Villeneuve praised the location and services provided by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission and UAE-based production services company Epic Films in a promotional behind-the-scenes video, to which Variety has been given exclusive access.

Dune: Part Two ” is delivering on the promise. Armed with sandworms, big screen spectacle and the star power of Timothée Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve ’s science fiction epic stormed the North American box office this weekend earning $81.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.Internationally, it earned $97 million, bringing its global debut to $178.5 million.“Denis made a really extraordinary and special film and its been really exciting to see people respond,” said Mary Parent, a producer on both “Dune” films and chairman of worldwide production at Legendary. “It was made for the big screen and it feels like it’s being received as a cinematic event.”It’s the first major hit of 2024, and one that was sorely needed by exhibitors.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor Riding a sandworm across the desert planet of Arrakis is something most “Dune” fans have undoubtedly wanted to do at one point or another, but it begs the question: how would one actually get off the giant annelids? Well, “Dune: Part Two” director Denis Villeneuve seems to have an answer, telling IndieWire as such in an interview centered on the sequel. “Dune’s” lore established that the Fremen — a fiercely independent group of desert warriors — can ride the worms, controlling and using them in battle or as transportation across a vast terrain, with entire villages riding on their capacious backs. However, we never actually see anyone get off the worms.

Denis Villeneuve is finally back with the release of Dune: Part Two!

Many questions abound with “Dune: Part Two” now in theaters.

Jordan Moreau It’s finally time to return to Arrakis. Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Two” has arrived, making a mighty $12 million in previews at the box office from more than 3,400 theaters. Big-screen Imax showings made up $4.5 million of that huge haul.

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” opens this Friday, March 1, and returning for the film as the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica and Paul Atreides’ mother is actress Rebecca Ferguson, known for the “Mission Impossible” franchise (read our review). As I noted earlier this week, Ferguson can be a mercurial interview; she’s spirited, unconventional, can turn on a dime, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

As her many online fans have noticed, Rebecca Ferguson is playful, eccentric, sometimes very candid, can turn on a dime, and does not suffer fools. Interviewing her can be like riding a wild bull, a bit unpredictable and disarming, and I found that to be very much the case with my latest interview with her about “Dune: Part Two” (read our review here).

Sometimes, a filmmaker makes a comment in the home stretch of promotion for their film that either blows up the marketing plan or irritates the rank and file of cineastes. And just as “Dune: Part Two” is about to hit theaters (read our review), director Denis Villeneuve seems to have made provocative comments in a recent interview that have kind of blown up the internet.

Denis Villeneuve is sharing his opinions on television and movies.

Denis Villeneuve is a credited screenwriter on six of the acclaimed features he has directed — including Dune: Part One, for which he received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination from the Academy but not directing nomination. He is, however, not a fan of dialogue.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Denis Villeneuve recently told The Times of London that “movies have been corrupted by television.” His opinion comes from his growing desire to make a movie without any dialogue. “Frankly, I hate dialogue,” the filmmaker told the publication. “Dialogue is for theatre and television.

Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve have said that they spoke to each other in French on the set of their new film, Dune: Part Two.The pair were speaking to the The New York Times to promote the new film, which is the second part of the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 896-page sci-fi novel, and the writer of the interview noted that they were speaking in French each other when they arrived. Villeneuve is from Quebec, the French-speaking area of Canada, while Chalamet is a dual American and French citizen.“It was the way that we were able to find intimacy in the chaos.

The stars of Dune: Part Two are celebrating the movie’s premiere in New York City!