Well, this is exciting.
Variety is reporting that Denis Villeneuve, director of Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, is on the verge of achieving his longstanding dream: helming the Dune reboot for Legendary. Having landed movie and TV rights to Frank Herbert’s seminal classic late last month, the studio is reportedly beginning to cast the net in search of a filmmaker, with Villeneuve emerging as an early candidate for the gig.
Negotiations are in the very early stages, but it appears the idea is for Denis Villeneuve to direct the first installment in an emerging franchise. That indicates Legendary’s movie reboot could well act as the lynchpin going forward, before the studio spreads its retooled Dune universe across multiple mediums. There’s certainly plenty of content to mine from Herbert’s six-part epic, and after impressing with his execution on Arrival – Villeneuve’s poignant sci-fi was lauded for its balance of haunting visuals and heart-wrenching character drama – few would argue that the director stands as a fine candidate for the gig.
In fact, when speculating on his future beyond Blade Runner 2049, the filmmaker admitted that he’ll likely remain in the sci-fi genre, something that could even herald a sequel to 2017’s Blade Runner sequel. Said he: “I’m doomed, I love sci-fi. I have two more ideas now that I would love to do. [And] Blade Runner could go on… we’ll see how this one goes.”
Circling back to Dune, though, Denis Villeneuve is now officially one step closer to landing his dream gig. Stay tuned for more on this one as it develops. Blade Runner 2049, on the other hand, is expected to drop on October 6, 2017.