One that has been on his mind for decades, and in the works for pretty long too.
Read our interview with Villeneuve below, and come back Thursday for our spoiler discussion.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Image: Warner Bros.
Germain Lussier, io9: Congratulations.
But watching this, I wondered, what would have happened if the first one didnt work?
Would this have been made?
Image: Warner Bros.
Did you ever even contemplate that this wouldnt get made?
It could have happened.
It was part of the gambling I was doing [with the adaptation].
Image: Warner Bros.
But I knew once the movie was finished that Legendary was absolutely pleased and happy with the movie.
Well, Im glad that we didnt have to deal with that.
Lets talk about the movie structure which I found very interesting.
Obviously, the movie is very much about Pauls journey, and we see an incredible arc there.
It felt stronger this way.
io9: And when did you make that decision?
Was it during the writing or during the editing?
Villeneuve: Both writing and editing.
io9: Got it.
Is that something you have to okay with the studio?
Because ultimately its their movie and youre putting your mark before their logo.
Was there any pushback and what was your thinking in doing that?
And there was this idea of putting a statement right before the logo to own the space.
Everybody loved the idea.
You put away the parking lot and your concern about dinner.
[Slap noise] Right away, its like, Okay, guys, listen.
It works very well, but Im curious about how you came to that decision.
Villeneuve: Its very important.
And the thing is that when Frank Herbert wrote Dune, he was disappointed how people perceived the book.
Me, I had the benefit of knowing that.
I had the benefit of having read Dune Messiah.
io9: Heres something kind of silly.
I loved seeing sandworms being ridden in the movie but to do that requires a thumper.
And those thumpers seemingly disappear once the worm arrives.
How much do you know about thumper production or logistics in this world?
How many do they have?
Where do they keep them?
Do they bring multiples with them?
How much have you thought about this?
Villeneuve: Yeah, its a thing you ask yourself.
Is there something that they can find back there out of the digestive system of the worm?…
In Part One were trying to avoid the sandworms as much as possible.
I thought it was super poetic and I absolutely loved it.
But yeah, it raises a question.
Im sure the Fremen thought about that.
Im sure that theres a way to recycle because its a culture that is all about recycling.
Its a bit like people living in space.
Its an environment thats so harsh and they are very clever people.
So theres a way of recycling those thumpers to find them back.
We should ask a Fremen.
io9: Yeah, maybe the excrement somewhere, right?
Villeneuve: I suspect.
Were those two scenes that jumped out to you as well?
Villeneuve: When you bring sandriding to the screen, its a responsibility.
I wanted it to look real, edgy, dangerous, cool.
So first of all, I had to figure out myself the technique to get on the worm.
What would be the approach?
How an experienced Fremen will do it.
How Paul will do it because he, of course, is a bit clumsy at the beginning.
It required weeks of R&D and then weeks of shooting so that do that tiny sequence.
It required a tremendous amount of human effort.
But I will not go into the details because I dont like to talk about the magic tricks.
Its better for the people to enjoy.
And then well talk it once they have seen it.
io9: I was so impressed by everybody in this movie.
The cast is incredible, Timothee in particular.
Hes terrifying at the end.
Villeneuve: Thats my job as a director.
Specifically with Timothee, he was really prepared for that because he knew what was coming for Part Two.
And he was really excited about that because in Part One hes more a victim of the events.
In Part Two he becomes a man and he wants to avenge his father.
And I love that.
I kept him boiling.
I kept the blood boiling until it was ready to open.
But it was a beautiful journey with Timothee.
Villeneuve: Ill be honest with you.
Probably Im making movies because first I was a hardcore Lego player.
Im from that first generation where it was just bricks, right?
I went to a lot of places with those Lego.
Spaceships, boats or whatever.
I said, What are you talking about?
Its not ready for Christmas?
Villeneuve: And they said No, Mr. Villenuve.
You understand, there is a strategy and itll be ready for 2024. io9: Oh wow.
Villeneuve: And I would say I had a blast doing the Ornithopter during Christmas time.
Dune: Part Two, which is in theaters this weekend.
Check out our interviews withco-stars Dave BautistaandStellan Skarsgard.
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