Denis Villeneuve says he was half-satisfied by David Lynch’s Dune

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Frank Herbert's "Dune" has proven to be notoriously difficult to adapt, but Denis Villeneuve will be giving it a shot with the first DUNE feature-film since David Lynch's stab at the series back in 1984. Some love Lynch's film and others hate it, but I think most can agree that the story of DUNE still needs a proper adaptation. David Lynch has famously said that he's proud of everything he's done, with the exception of DUNE, but Villeneuve told Empire that he's actually a fan of the film, even though there are elements he doesn't like.

I’m a big David Lynch fan, he’s the master. When I saw [Lynch]’s Dune I remember being excited, but his take… there are parts that I love and other elements that I am less comfortable with. So it’s like, I remember being half-satisfied. That’s why I was thinking to myself, ‘There’s still a movie that needs to be made about that book, just a different sensibility.'

Denis Villeneuve certainly has a much more optimistic take on the film than David Lynch does, who described the film as a heartache and a failure. "It was a heartache for me," said Lynch. "It was a failure and I didn't have final cut. I've told this story a billion times. It's not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much – but it was a total failure for me." I definitely share Villeneuve's opinion of Lynch's film; it's far from perfect, but there's so much to like. Even so, I'm hoping that Villeneuve's vision of DUNE will succeed where Lynch's failed. A teaser for DUNE is currently playing in front of Christopher Nolan's TENET, but the trailer will launch online on September 9th at 9am PST. We'll be sure to get that up for you just as soon as it drops.

The cast of DUNE includes Timothée Chalamet's as Paul Atreides, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Stellan Skarsgard as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as his sadistic nephew, Glossu "Beast" Rabban, Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam, the emperor's truthsayer, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, a troubadour-swordsman, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, a swordmaster in the house of Atreides, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen, Zendaya as Chani, a Fremen who becomes a love interest to Paul Atreides, and David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, a twisted Mentat. DUNE will be hitting theaters on December 18, 2020.