Dune isn’t out yet, but during press for the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, director Denis Villeneuve has said he’s ready for the follow-up. The science fiction movie sequel could film in 2022, should he get the go ahead.
“If ever there’s enthusiasm and the movie is greenlit sooner than later, I will say that I will be ready to shoot in 2022, for sure. 2022, for sure,” Villeneuve said, courtesy of Collider. “I would love to because I am ready to go, and I will say that I would love to bring it to the screen as soon as possible.” The title card for the blockbuster alien movie reads Dune: Part One, meaning the Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director has his heart set on getting to complete the story.
He says the blueprint for Dune: Part Two was part of getting Part One off the ground. “When you make a movie in two parts,” he explains, “when you do the first part you have to know what you’re going to do in the second part. So I will say that I will be very ready to go quite quickly.”
Early signs are looking good that Part Two will get its chance. Reception from the Venice International Film Festival has been overwhelmingly positive, with Steph Green calling it “an astronomically impressive film” in her review for us. Impressing critics is one thing of course, doing numbers at the box office is another, but optimism is in the air.
As for what we can expect from Villeneuve’s second Dune, that’s an open question. He’s said that Zendaya will play a bigger role, possibly hinting at a shift in perspective away from Part One star Timothée Chalamet. We don’t know how much of Frank Herbert’s novel is even contained in Part One yet, or if material from any of the Dune sequels has been incorporated.
We’ll just have to wait and see. Dune: Part One opens in theatres October 22. Here’s the best sci-fi series to keep you watching the skies in the meantime.