LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Denis Villeneuve doesn鈥檛 feel like he came back to Arrakis for 鈥淒une: Part Two.鈥� In his mind, he never left.
The sequel, which opens in theaters on March 1, is the culmination of a six-year filmmaking journey, preceded by 40 years of dreaming about it. And it鈥檚 one that Christopher Nolan has already compared to 鈥淭he Empire Strikes Back.鈥�
Realizing Frank Herbert鈥檚 novel for the big screen is a feat that has bested and befuddled some of the greats, including David Lean, Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Lynch, the only one who actually got to make a film. But his 1984 film was such a flop that its two sequels were quickly abandoned.
Villeneuve finally got his chance at one of the more turbulent times in Hollywood history, facing two delayed releases (one because of the pandemic, the other ), an historic and .
鈥淭he conditions could not have been worse to release ( ),鈥� Villeneuve said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. 鈥淎nd still the movie did a decent box office.鈥�
Even in that limbo time, he never stopped working on the script for 鈥淧art Two鈥� knowing that if they got the greenlight, he wanted to be ready to go. By the time his cinematographer Greig Fraser was picking up the best cinematography Oscar for 鈥淒une,鈥� they were deep into pre-production for the second. And everyone was soon back in Budapest with cameras rolling by July. But though they鈥檇 conquered the desert in 鈥淧art One,鈥� new challenges awaited.
鈥淲e all walked at the beginning into this project feeling confident,鈥� Villeneuve said. 鈥淎nd that confidence quickly eroded.鈥�
鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� would be much more technically challenging, with at least seven major action sequences compared to two in the first. It picks up with Timoth茅e Chalamet鈥檚 Paul Atreides in the aftermath of the calculated and devastating attack by a rival house on his family and followers who had just established control of the mineral rich desert planet Arrakis. With his father dead, Paul and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) retreat to the desert where they establish a tenuous alliance with Arrakis natives known as the Fremen (including Zendaya). Paul trains to fight alongside them against the Harkonnen invaders.
Among the challenges: Filming Chalamet 鈥渟urfing鈥� on a sandworm in a way that is thrilling and transportive and not at all silly 鈥� something that Villeneuve had to figure out how to translate from what he鈥檇 imagined into words that would make sense to all the craftspeople working to make it happen in the brutally hot sun.
But none of those stresses seemed to transfer to the atmosphere on location in Wadi Rum, Budapest and Abu Dhabi. In fact, Chalamet said, it was the opposite. Villeneuve appeared to be having fun while making it.
鈥淒enis is so playful. It鈥檚 like the greatest evidence of self-confidence to me,鈥� Chalamet said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ultimately a playful, creative exercise to get to direct any movie. The man who takes himself too seriously, is more focused on the people around him, the audience, than the actual product reeks of a movie that鈥檚 pretentious.鈥�
Josh Brolin, who has now worked with Villeneuve on three films, including 鈥淪icario鈥� and both 鈥淒unes,鈥� where he plays Atreides warrior Gurney Halleck, said it takes a unique personality to be a great filmmaker, but that Villeneuve is right up there with the Coen brothers in his ability to do it well.
鈥淕reat filmmakers that I鈥檝e had the gift of being able to work with are misfits. They鈥檙e true misfits. They鈥檙e not cool people. They鈥檙e socially totally inept,鈥� Brolin said. 鈥淎nd they found this medium to be able to work through, (where) they can express themselves wildly and specifically. And what鈥檚 going on in their head that we never were privy to? Now we get to experience it.鈥�
Villeneuve has almost gotten used to delayed releases 鈥� and both times his films have benefitted from the cushion. The first was held almost a year because of the pandemic, which allowed him to tweak and perfect. This time, he got to do something different: Make a film transfer so that it could be projected on , even though it was shot on digital.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the ultimate viewing experience and the ultimate format,鈥� Villeneuve said.
鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� cost a reported $122 million to produce and is arriving in theaters not a moment too soon. The marketplace is a little emptier than usual because of the residual effects of the labor standoff in Hollywood last year, and it's also a landscape where superheroes are no longer the trusty 鈥渢entpoles鈥� that they once were.
But 鈥淒une鈥� is a different kind of franchise. The first 鈥淒une鈥� made just over $400 million even though it was also released day-and-date on Max (then HBOMax). And Villeneuve is more hopeful this time around. Audience appetite for theatrical is stronger than it was in late 2021, after all. He also believes 鈥淧art Two鈥� is both more broadly entertaining and can be enjoyed without having seen the first.
鈥淧art One was more meditative,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were following a boy discovering a culture. Now we are with the boy avenging his father, falling in love. And it鈥檚 more of an action movie.鈥�
He knows that 鈥淧art Two鈥� 鈥渉as a soul鈥� as well, but he鈥檚 not quite ready to step back and enjoy it as the 13-year-old boy who started him on this path in the first place. It鈥檚 one of those paradoxes of adapting something you love, that in order to do so, you have to sacrifice some or all of that, and it will no longer mean what it once did to you.
Before they started on the first, composer Hans Zimmer, also a lifetime fan of 鈥淒une,鈥� asked him a question to this effect.
鈥淗e said to me, 鈥榠s it a good idea to try to life a dream that we had when we were kids? Is it meant to fail?鈥欌�� Villeneuve said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 part of the movie that when I look at it, it鈥檚 closed the dream. Other parts are new because it鈥檚 an adaptation and I have to make choices and distort really the reality of the book in order to make it fit into a film format.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 mixed emotions,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 joy and pain.鈥�
But even if he can't yet experience it as a fan, his peers can. When it to 鈥淭he Empire Strikes Back," Villeneuve demurred, but the internet went wild.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a tremendous amount of visual imagination and worldbuilding on a scale that I have not seen before in a very long time,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 somebody using all of the advantages of cinema in a way that doesn鈥檛 often happen.鈥�
Villeneuve has left the door open for more, too. Herbert kept writing books, after all. But for now, he鈥檚 going to step back and let 鈥淒une鈥� breathe a little. He's looking at his movies in the macro, in a way that might ensure the future of the medium he loves so much.
鈥淲hat I tried to do with my last three movies is to push forward this idea of event and the grand scale,鈥� Villeneuve said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the way movies will survive.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
