Dune is a few weeks away from its world premiere and director Denis Villeneuve is already looking ahead to the sequel. The filmmaker only agreed to direct an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science-fiction novel for Legendary and Warner Bros. if they allowed him to split the book into two films. The studios agreed, and thus the upcoming film is the first in a planned two-film adaptation.
Villeneuve told La Repubblica (translated by IGN) that Zendaya moves into the protagonist position in “Dune Part 2.” Timothée Chalamet is the protagonist of the first movie. Villeneuve said,
“When I did the casting for Chani’s character, I met a lot of actresses,”
“Zendaya wanted to audition and today, after shooting the film and seeing what a wonderful actress she is, I’m sorry I auditioned her. It was just because I didn’t know her. However that day, she impressed me and when she left the studio I knew that Chani was her, the young desert tiger. I am honored to present two such explosive talents on screen [Chalamet and Zendaya] and I can’t wait to shoot the second part of ‘Dune’ to get them back together. Knowing that in the next chapter Zendaya will be the protagonist of the story.”
Villeneuve added one of his main goals with Dune is for the movie to be believable.,
“I didn’t look for the exotic. I wanted everyday light, not perfect sunsets or sunrises,” the filmmaker said. “I wanted it to be accessible and understandable. Only then would viewers focus on the characters and their relationships without being distracted from the frames of the film. So I gave space to nature for what it is, without trying to control or modify it.”
Dune will world premiere September 3 out of competition at the Venice Film Festival. Warner Bros. is releasing the film in theaters and on HBO Max starting October 22.
