To celebrate the eagerly-anticipated release of Dune, the new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi opus, we had the pleasure of chatting with director Denis Villeneuve about the film. You can read our glowing review from the World Premiere here.
Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.
Reading Dune as a teenager had a huge impact on Villeneuve and always hoped he would one day make the definitive version and, after years of waiting, he has delivered one of cinema’s most incredible and immersive experiences. He tells us about why he wanted to direct Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 before even discussing Dune and what skills and knowledge those films gave him in order to feel confident enough to take on the adaption and the continued influence on him of Roger Deakins; his incredible cast (they say 90% of directing is casting, after all) and why each and every member of the ensemble was as close to the characters in the book as possible; as well as telling us about the challenges of shooting on IMAX and why it was the perfect way to capture both the scope and intimacy of the story all at once.
You can watch our full interview below:
Dune opens in cinemas on October 21st in the UK and October 22nd is the US
