Denis Villeneuve fulfilled his 40-year-old dream with Dune

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has carried the dream of making a movie from Frank Herbert’s book for 40 years.

With its dense, detailed plotting and a throng of characters, sci-fi novel Dune has been something of a holy grail in cinema.

Filmmaker David Lynch made a divisive version in the 1980s while another widely panned TV miniseries made the rounds in the 2000s. But when French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve was tapped to bring to the screen Frank Herbert’s beloved words, there was optimism for the first time in decades.

The visionary Villeneuve has staked a reputation as a bold sci-fi storyteller, having crafted the cerebral drama Arrival with Amy Adams and the breathtaking Blade Runner 2049 sequel.

For both films, Villeneuve married a visual mastery with a contemplative soul, asking questions about time and reality. He was the man to make Dune.

Dune is also a holy grail for Villeneuve personally. He has carried the story since first chancing upon it when he was 13, a couple of years younger than Dune’s lead character, Paul Atreides, the son of a duke who is destined for a future set in motion by others.

Even as he read it then, he knew Dune would make a powerful movie with its story of a war between royal houses for control of a precious resource on a dangerous desert planet.

Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Timothee Chalamet in Dune. Picture: Warner Bros

“When I read it, I knew at the time this could be a very powerful movie,” Villeneuve told news.com.au. “It’s a dream that was in the back of my mind for many years, for 40 years. But for the most part, it was a fantasy, it was not real.”

The possibility of adapting Dune only became tangible six years ago, when he heard the screen rights were up again. By then, Villeneuve felt ready.

He had been crafting a version of it in his head for years before that, and some scenes in the finished version, which stars Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya, was close to what he imagined.

“The ‘Gom Jabbar’ scene [was one], and everything in the desert, when Paul meets the Fremen with his mother, those scenes were pretty precise in my mind. The way they are in the movie now, it’s pretty close to my early dreams.”

Many of the elements that made Herbert’s book such a lauded work in the 56 years since its publication is what makes it such a difficult proposition to adapt for the screen.

Time is spent with multiple characters’ internal thoughts, there are layers of political machinations while a lot of detail is given over to aspects of the world that doesn’t necessarily move the plot along at a pace.

Dune is in cinemas now. Picture: Warner Bros

Villeneuve and co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth understood this challenge, especially in crafting a story that would only tell half of Herbert’s first book.

“When you make an adaptation, it’s a transformation, and kind of a violent process. You will kill your darlings.

“We had to make sure that people who had never read the book or heard about the book would feel welcome watching the movie while at the same time, people who love the book, are experts of it, will find in the movie the things they love, such as the poetry, the atmosphere, the descriptions and the ideas.

“The way we approached it was by focusing entirely on Paul and embracing his point of view, even more than the book. A boy will discover a new world and we will see through his eyes and through his relationship with his mother. The tension in that relationship is at the core of the book.

“It means I sacrificed some of the peripheral characters, like the mentats for instance are characters that will be more developed in the second film.

“That is why I’m making two films, because they were too many elements. Some plot points, revelations and characters have been moved to the second feature.”

Denis Villeneuve on the Dune set with Javier Bardem. Picture: Warner Bros

That second feature was a nervous point for fans who knew Villeneuve didn’t take his screen version of Dune to the end of the novel. There is a natural break in the book, a completed coming-of-age character arc which still works if the story is severed in two.

Villeneuve’s plan was always to make two movies – the question was whether the studios were going to fund it, and the pandemic-related disruptions to the cinema industry didn’t help.

On October 26, a few days after Dune’s US release, the official word came down. Dune: Part Two had been greenlit.

“It was a massive relief,” Villeneuve said. “It was not a big surprise because I knew that Warner Bros and Legendary really loved part one, and they were all gearing up to make the second one. It would have been very surprising if it had not happened.

“The weekend of the US release was the final test. When I received the [box office] numbers on Sunday night, I felt a massive relief because the numbers were good. It took 1000 pounds off my shoulders.

“I went to bed like a baby, I slept so well.

“The next morning, I woke up relaxed and by the end of the day, I was starting production on part two. The way the movie has been received by the audience gives me tremendous energy to do part two.”

Timothee Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve at the Venice Film Festival premiere of Dune. Picture: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Villeneuve is looking forward to returning to the desert to film part two, an environment that looks incredible on film but throws up logistical challenges, including the heat. But the part he could do without is the footprints in the sand.

“I love shooting in the desert for 99 reasons but the one thing that pissed me off was footsteps. When you have a crew of a few hundred people working in the desert, you have to make sure that people will have the discipline to not step on your set in the morning. That, I’m not looking forward to.”

The other thing Villeneuve will have to confront is his own film, Dune. The filmmaker doesn’t like to watch his movies back, but embarking on his first sequel – Villeneuve directed crime thriller Sicario but didn’t return for the follow-up – will test that resolve.

“Usually, the last time I watch a movie [I’ve made] is at the premiere. Then I let it go for many, many years. The movies are linked with a lot of joys but also anger, disappointments. It’s normal, it’s part of the process.

“It takes years before I can get rid of all the emotions and then watch it for what it is.

“I don’t need to watch it again. I’ve seen the movie 1000 times [during production and in the editing suite] so I know exactly what needs to be done in part two.

“But it would be different this time. There’s a possibility that I might take the time to watch it, just to make sure that everything is bolted correctly.”

Josh Brolin in Dune – Villeneuve previously worked with the actor in Sicario. Picture: Warner Bros

Adapting and breaking down the book he discovered four decades ago as a young teenager hasn’t changed his love for Herbert’s work. Villeneuve said his love, his joy and his emotions for the book have stayed intact.

As to what his 13-year-old self would make of this grand cinematic work he has made, ever the perfectionist, it’s a mixed bag.

“I made this film for him. That was the way I made this movie, it was to stay in contact with that spirit of when I was young. It’s very, very difficult to try to live up to old dreams. But I will say there’s a moment in the movie that would have satisfied [him].”

When pressed, he conceded there was more than one.

“Some moments, some moments. But next time, I’ll try to please him entirely.”

Dune is in cinemas now

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Originally published as Denis Villeneuve fulfilled his 40-year-old dream with Dune