Denis Villeneuve says his Dune could be Star Wars for adults

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With BLADE RUNNER 2049 now behind him, director Denis Villeneuve is beginning to dive into his adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune." It's sure to be an ambitious project, especially as the novel has proven to be notoriously difficult to adapt, but the director is already setting the bar pretty high for himself. While speaking with Fandom, Villeneuve said that he's hoping to make DUNE into the STAR WARS movie he never saw.

Most of the main ideas of Star Wars are coming from Dune so it’s going to be a challenge to [tackle] this. The ambition is to do the Star Wars movie I never saw. In a way, it’s Star Wars for adults. We’ll see.

Before the 1984 David Lynch film, there were several attempts to bring "Dune" to the big-screen, most notably by Alejandro Jodorowsky, but Denis Villeneuve won't be looking at previous incarnations for inspiration. "No," Villeneuve said. "Because Jodorowsky is a very unique visionary. He has a very strong, unique vision. I am a total different human being. It would be very presumptuous and arrogant for me to try. I would love to talk to him. I’ve wanted to meet him for a long time. I think he’s a fantastic filmmaker and I would have loved to see his Dune. I think it would be a very singular Jodorowsky movie. Will it have been the vision I have for Dune? Very far away. I mean, I am sure because he is so unique." As for where Villeneuve will start with his DUNE remake, the director plans to begin with the very first book, adding that he will be "going back to the images that came out when I read it." There's also the possibility that Denis Villeneuve's DUNE saga will span more than one movie, with the director teasing that he "could be involved with one or two movies," but Villeneuve is quick to caution that there's still no guarantee that the first DUNE film will even make it to theaters.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 is now available on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD.