‘Dune: Part Three’ is going ahead with director Denis Villeneuve

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Angelina Jolie‘s scrapped “Cleopatra” movie was part romance epic and part “political thriller with assassinations and sex,” according to the movie’s original screenwriter Brian Helgeland. The Oscar-winning actor was set to play the Egyptian queen in a tentpole for Sony Pictures that once courted director David Fincher to helm. It never got off the ground.

“Dune” filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has a lot of options for what he could make next, and one of them could be his long-gestating “Cleopatra” movie based on the Stacy Schiff novel “Cleopatra: A Life” for Sony Pictures (he has a couple of options, one of them being a third “Dune” movie too). Before that, however, some may remember the era when filmmaker David Fincher had a version of the movie set up at Paramount, circa 2012, that would have starred Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie  (long before the competing Gal Gadot incarnation with Patty Jenkins and Kari Skogland).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Karlovy Vary Film Festival and Variety have teamed up to honor Francine Maisler, one of the world’s most respected casting directors, whose recent credits include “Dune: Part Two,” “The Bikeriders,” “Challengers,” “Civil War” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Maisler has worked on more than 70 feature films and is a recipient of 15 Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America, including for “Marriage Story” in 2020 and “Don’t Look Up” in 2021. As well as working with director Denis Villeneuve on “Dune: Part Two,” “Dune,” “Arrival” and “Sicario,” her other films include Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and “Knight of Cups,” and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” and “Birdman.” In 2022, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on HBO’s “Succession.” As part of its homage, Karlovy Vary will hold a special screening of one of the films which Maisler worked on.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Box office sands continue to flow for “Dune: Part Two,” which is nearing $700 million worldwide. Director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic has grossed $276 million in North America and $419 million overseas, bringing its global tally to $695.8 million after eight weeks of release. It’s an impressive benchmark in post-COVID times; only five movies in 2023, eight in 2022 and five in 2021 managed to cross the $700 million mark.

“Dune: Part Two” returns to IMAX screens this weekend, a move that will likely send Denis Villeneuve‘s sequel over the $700 million global box office barrier. That’ll be a coup for him and Warner Bros. and all but assure Villeneuve makes “Dune: Part Three” as soon as possible (barring a break, of course, and maybe another project first as a creative palette cleanser).

With Dune: Part Two being such a success in theaters, it seems to be a no-brainer that we’ll be getting Dune 3 in the future.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “Dune: Part Two” is barreling to streaming. The epic sci-fi sequel, starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, will become available to rent and purchase on digital starting Apr.

The holds on Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune Part Two have been great week-to-week since its March 1 opening, nothing steeper than -45% in a given week and as low as -36% in its third. That’s all due to Imax, and for fans who savor the Denis Villeneuve directed sequel, it’s getting an extended run in that large format exhibitor’s auditoriums.

Kim Kardashian accidentally (OK, probably not accidentally, TBH) just confirmed that her little sister Kylie Jenner still has the hots for A-list actor Timothée Chalamet!

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? EW reports that, thanks to the success of “Dune: Part Two,” Legendary and Dnis Villeneuve have “Dune 3” in development. That comes as no surprise to moviegoers.

There’s been an exciting update about Dune: Messiah following the major success of Dune: Part Two.

Jaden Thompson Following the massive success of “Dune: Part Two,” director Denis Villeneuve may have found his next project. The filmmaker is in discussion to reunite with Legendary for an adaptation of Annie Jacobsen’s Pulitzer Prize finalist “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” Variety has confirmed.

With “Dune: Part Two” now in the rearview mirror, what’s next for Denis Villeneuve? First, a well-deserved rest, but the director said last month that he has “four projects on the table,” including “Dune Messiah,” “Cleopatra,” and another secret project. But what about the fourth? READ MORE: ‘Dune: Messiah’: Denis Villeneuve Says He’ll Make Sequel Only If “It’s Going To Be Better Than ‘Part Two'” Well, it could be “Nuclear War: A Scenario.” Deadline reports that Legendary Entertainment optioned Annie Jacobsen‘s nonfiction bestseller and eyes Villeneuve to direct.

Robert De Niro, Austin Butler and Snoop Dogg were gathered together at the rapper’s private Malibu estate.Snoop Dogg’s son Cordell posted photographs and videos from the evening to his Instagram, showing the stars sitting together, flashing peace signs and chatting with some other guestsThe caption to the Instagram post also indicated the star-studded group were going to share a private dinner together.The Instagram caption read: “Champ De Niro Elvis Scoop. Dinner at the Malibu house talking numbers”.A post shared by Champ Medici (@cbroadus)One video included in the Instagram post shows Snoop Dogg posing for a photo with his arms around De Niro, joking with him about having “Italian in [his] blood”.This event comes as Butler finishes up promoting his latest film, Dune: Part Two, which also starred Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.In a four-star review of the film, NME wrote: “Butler delivers a deliciously nasty turn as Feyd-Rautha (signature move: gleefully licking knife blades)” and described the cast as “exceptional”.It has also recently been confirmed that the Elvis star will join Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in making up the cast of Ari Aster’s next film with award-winning studio A24, titled Eddington.Meanwhile, last month Snoop Dogg and Dr.

EXCLUSIVE: In a deal worth $500,000 against $1.5 million, Legendary Entertainment has optioned Pulitzer Prize -finalist Annie Jacobsen‘s nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario, as a potential reteam with its Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve. The expectation is that Villeneuve would take this one as another giant project after he completes Dune: Messiah, which he and Legendary are developing as the conclusion of the trilogy.

As “Dune: Part Two” looks to potentially double the global box office grosses of the original installment in the coming weeks (it currently sits at $628.8 million), fans of the franchise were a little surprised a few characters were missing in the sequel. One of those characters was Stephen McKinley Henderson‘s Thufir Hawat, a loyal member of House Atreides, prominently featured in the first film.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter After three days of release, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. It has collected a mighty $194 million globally in its opening weekend, ranking behind only “Dune: Part Two” ($626 million after five weeks of release) and “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($347 million after four weeks of release) in terms of overall ticket sales. The monster mashup, from Warner Bros.

Steven Spielberg has shared high praise for Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune: Part Two – see what Spielberg had to say below.Both Spielberg and Villeneuve recently appeared together on the March 26 episode of The Director’s Cut podcast, during which Spielberg shared his thoughts on Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic, Dune.“It’s an honour for me to sit here and talk to you,” Spielberg said to Villeneuve. “Let me start by saying there are filmmakers who are the builders of worlds.

It’s a rare treat when two genre filmmaking giants like Steven Spielberg and Denis Villeneuve come together to share their insights. In a recent episode of The Director’s Cut—A DGA Podcast, these visionary filmmakers sat down for a conversation that was both entertaining and enlightening.

Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune: Part Two is getting Steven Spielberg‘s seal of approval. The Oscar-winning director is praising not only the film, but the Canadian filmmakers vision and creativity.