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Denis Villeneuve has been dreaming ofDunesince he was a child.
(Thoughit has its defenders.)
For a time, it seemed like VilleneuvesDunemight be equally cursed.
It has been made from the beginning as a love letter for the big screen.
(Spoiler warning: This post discusses broad elements from futureDunenovels.)
My first question is a tough one: What is your favorite spice?Definitely coffee.
Because without coffee, I dont speak English.
First thing is the coffee in the morning to wake me up.
Its probably my favorite moment of the day when I switch on the coffee machine.
I love anything dark and strong.
And the Bene Gesserit.
Including Charlotte Ramplings iconic veil?Its something that creates a religious feeling, a distance.
A veil creates a beautiful mystery.
And I love the way we have glimpses into Charlotte Ramplings eyes.
It makes her character even more powerful and frightening.
One of the underlying themes in the entireDunesaga is about the idea that history is cyclical.
It repeats on these thousand-year cycles.
Is that something you personally ascribe to?Im obsessed.
Its a dark, ominous book, but I think Frank Herbert wrote it as a warning.
And sadly, the book became more relevant as time went by.
It was very prophetic in terms of the oil in the Middle East and the political squabbling, polarization.
And the blend of the very dangerous cocktail that is religion and politics.
Because of the pandemic, the movie got delayed by a year.
You suddenly had more time to work on it.
What sort of tinkering did you do?When the pandemic hit, the movie was not finished.
Instead of running for a release date, we walked.
I took part of that year to finesse, to ensure that everything was according to my dream.
We were working a lot on the sound.
Now the movie has been finished for several months.
But still, I love the fact that the studio said, Take your time.
The movie can walk by itself.
I want to talk about two stylistic elements that mark yourDuneas different from versions that have come before.
The first one is the sandworms.
On the cover of the book and in the Lynch version, the sandworms have these three jaws.
We needed a beast that can survive a harsh and brutal environment.
But more important, we were talking about, how does it feed?
I fell deeply in love.
Its an anatomic detail thats very grounded in the world and in the ecosystem.
It has this feeling of the presence of a god.
They have destroyed the ecosystem of their planet.
They would be very pale, closer to vampires.
So both of them were shaped by their environments.
And so I was born with the horizon.
I was born with skies; melancholic skies that are bigger than us.
That sky brought a lot of humility.
Those were the two forces that I dealt with in my life, religion and science.
And both were linked with faith.
The idea that I had to trust engineers, and I had to trust the priest.
Both were initiating some fear, you know?
I was born from that contrast.
Help me settle a debate:Is Duncan Idaho a cool name?Personally, I deeply love it.
I love that Frank Herbert gives hints of Earth culture.
You have links with the Catholic religion, or Middle Eastern cultural elements.
They are hints that these people were coming from Earth, and then they expanded into the galaxy.
And Duncan Idaho roots it to Earth.
So personally, I dont know what your position on it is, but I love it.
I think its the best.
Is that the right read on the current status?I cannot talk about the current status.
But Im very optimistic.
Its gettinggreat reviews, and Warner Bros. and Legendary love the movie.
Everybody is wishing to make a second one.
If theres enough enthusiasm at the box office, it will happen.
[Note: This interview was published beforeDune: Part Twowasofficially greenlit.]
I was waking up excited every day about what I was about to shoot.
Its a book that I could pore into the details of.
Each scene had something that excites me, and I will say the same about the second one.
But I mean, there are some scenesinvolvingwormsthat I cant wait to shoot.
I go one movie at a time.
Making the first one took all my stamina, my energy, and my creativity.
And my dream would be to make aDunepart one and two.
And maybe theres another possibility to makeDune Messiah, because I think thatMessiahcould be a fantastic movie.
Thats already a lot of work, so I dont allow myself to think further than that.
But yeah, just the thought of designing that creature is daunting.
But you know what?
If ever I have to face that challenge, it means that life is fantastic.
