Denis Villeneuve "always envisioned" three Dune movies

Dune
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has revealed that he's hoping to make a trilogy based on Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic. 

"I always envisioned three movies," Villeneuve said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "It's not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice." 

He added, "[Frank] Herbert wrote six books, and the more he was writing, the more it was getting psychedelic, so I don't know how some of them could be adapted. One thing at a time. If I ever have the chance to do Dune: Part Two and Dune Messiah, I'm blessed."

Dune Part 2 was recently confirmed and Part One has been a hit at the box office. Dune achieved the best opening weekend in the US for a day-and-date release from Warner Bros that debuted simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. 

The movie made $40.1 million in the US during its opening weekend after opening on October 22. Worldwide, it made $87.5 million this weekend, bringing its current total revenue to $220.7 million. It features an all-star cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.

Dune is in theaters and on HBO Max now. For more viewing inspiration, check out our list of the upcoming movies to get excited about in 2021 and beyond.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.