Dune to be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049)

Yeah, I'm going to call bulls**t on that.

 

The way I'm looking at it right now, is that Legendary has intentions on getting the movie(s) right, so I believe they're going to let Denis have the creative freedom necessary. Though I am assuming Warner Bros are distributing the film(s), yeah? They'll probably want a shorter runtime after how long Blade Runner 2049 was, though I'm kinda hoping both Dune films will have around a 2-2.5 hour runtime regardless. I suppose these could be cut into Theatrical and Extended Cuts too. I'm sure scenes can be cut in theatres for sake of running time while not affecting the story as a whole. Denis will know what he's doing anyway. Still excited for this no matter what.

 

Looks like Timothee Chalamet will be playing Paul:

Timothee Chalamet in Talks to Star in Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’

 

After enough consideration, I think this kid could nail Paul. Make it so.

Some suggestions of my own...

Lady Jessica - Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049)
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen - Albert Finney or Robbie Coltrane
Princess Irulan - Elizabeth Debicki
Duncan Idaho - Pedro Pascal
Thufir Hawat - Jeremy Irons
Doctor Yueh - Chin Han or Donnie Yen (or even Chow Yun Fat)
Piter DeVries - Cillian Murphy or Michael Sheen
Chani - Hailee Steinfeld or Brianna Hildebrand

 

Duke Leto - Kyle MacLachlan

 

or as I saw suggested, Patrick Stewart

 

Don't you think he might be a little too old for that role?

 

Maybe, but I'd like the gravitas he'd bring to the role - as well as the connection to Lynch's film of course

 

The 'My Dinner with Andre' of the Dune series. And my favorite.

 

After seeing what an amazing portrayal he gave of the King under the Mountain, Richard Armitage could make a great Duke Leto - and I think he has the right look too.

Also heard a suggestion this morning of Sigourney Weaver to play the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. I dig it!

 

Feyd-Ratha Harkonnen -Sting (with carefully applied CGI)

 

This just posted on Brian Herbert's Facebook page...

I'm assuming the film will finish around the moment Paul drinks the Water of Life and Jessica becoming the Reverend Mother of the Fremen?!

 

Ooh, I didn't know they were breaking the book down into separate films, as excited as I was already this has ratcheted it up for me

 

Yup. I guess it's more logical to set the 2nd film from the 2-3 year period where Paul and Jessica have been in hiding, etc...

 

Excellent casting choice. I'm down with this!

Rebecca Ferguson In Talks To Join Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’

 

Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' Reboot Hires 'Dark Knight/Dunkirk' Stunt Coordinator - HN Entertainment

 

I hope the film(s) thoroughly cover the original book. Plenty there for two 2 and 1/2 hour epics. Leave it roughly where the the 2nd book picks up. Someone else can tackle more in 15 or 20 years from now.

 

It's been reported that the first film will cover approximately the first half of the book, which by reading through again recently, looks to be a very suitable moment for a cliffhanger. Paul and Jessica escape into the sandstorm, presuming that they don't survive. The Baron appoints Rabban to oversee operations on Arrakis thus ending with a monologue of him grooming Feyd-Rautha to take over from his meat-head older brother.

 

Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins Part Ways for ‘Dune,’ but Greig Fraser Steps In

Misleading headline. It would have been a dream of Roger Deakins could have been DP on this project, but Greig Fraser will not disappoint either.

 

Absolutely spot-on casting right here! Was kinda wanting Bautista to play Rabban actually...

https://io9.gizmodo.com/dave-bautista-is-headed-to-arrakis-for-the-dune-remake-1831556673?IR=T

 

An adaptation of Roadside Picnic that's more faithful than Tarkovsky's Stalker and well-budgeted enough to pull off its concepts would be cool. I know there was a mini-series bring planned, but I don't know what its status is.

 

It has to be said that I'm a tad concerned that they're only covering the first half of the book in the upcoming shoot - according to Denis Villenueve, it's just too expensive to do it all in one go like he would have wished - Dune isn't exactly a prominent pop-culture staple like, say, the Tolkien literary works, and Villenueve's work isn't the usual run-of-the-mill popcorn fare (despite the increasing budgets and visual world-building), as Blade Runner 2049's disappointing theatrical performance proved... I'm just worried if the upcoming first part doesn't do gangbusters business, the story won't be completed and left hanging.

Probably won't happen that way, but it is a genuine concern...

 

My guess is that this will bomb. Not because of Villenueve or any other person involved, but because as you say, it isn't a prominent pop-culture property, but perhaps more significantly because of the internal monologue nature of the book(s) and the myriad of foreign sounding names, houses, cults and what have you. It can be very confusing to the uninitiated.

If he tries to do justice to the novel, than it will potentially appeal only to the hardcore fans of the books (and they may still be disappointed), and if not, it will be panned as a poor adaption. IMO, it's a no win situation...

 

I'm not going to be quick to dismiss this film just yet. Has there ever been a film with an Eric Roth-penned script that has failed at the Box Office?! His script should probably help with pacing I suppose. It will be interesting how they tackle the thought monologues in the book though. Apparently, Roth once handed in a draft that was around 200 pages. Wow, perhaps they could release a theatrical version to appease general audiences and then later when the Bluray hits, an Extended Edition could also come out sometime later.

 

I think Game of Throne has primed the public for these complex, multi-house, epic stories. Wouldn't be surprised if they reference the show somehow in the tagline or in reviewer quotes.