Denis Villeneuve: It would have to go "really badly" for there not to be Dune 2

Dune
(Image credit: Chiabella James/Warner Bros)

Dune is right around the corner, debuting at Venice Film Festival to excellent reviews, and though Part Two still isn't a sure thing, that doesn't mean director Denis Villeneuve hasn't been thinking about a sequel – or what could come beyond that.

Villeneuve tells SFX Magazine in the latest issue – featuring Dune on the cover – that he will know "by December" if Part Two going ahead, adding that it would have to go "really badly" for it not to happen. He says that the script is relatively well advanced and that it could start filming next autumn. 

Despite excited suggestions from star Jason Momoa, the director says there's no six-hour cut of Part One and the theatrical release is the final version, adding, "I have never done a director's cut of any of my films."

He describes the movie as "a love letter to the big screen" and says that while it's the biggest, and most challenging, movie he's ever made, Dune is an appetiser for the second part still to come, which he describes as "the main meal."

But what about dessert – or should that be [sorry] desert... "There is Dune's second book, The Messiah Of Dune, which could make an extraordinary film," he says of potentially continuing the series. "I always saw that there could be a trilogy. After that, we'll see."

For much more on Dune, including extended interviews with the cast and Villeneuve, make sure to buy the new issue of SFX Magazine. Dune arrives this October 22 in UK cinemas, and in theaters and on HBO Max in the US on the same date. 

I'm the Editor of SFX, the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – available digitally and in print every four weeks since 1995. I've been editing magazines, and writing for numerous publications since before the Time War. Obviously SFX is the best one. I knew being a geek would work out fine.