'Blade Runner 2' Director Denis Villeneuve Wants to Remake 'Dune'

Sting (center) in David Lynch's 'Dune' (Universal/Kobal)
Sting (center) in David Lynch’s 1984 ‘Dune’ (Universal/Kobal)

Denis Villeneuve is currently shooting a sequel to Blade Runner, but he has another ’80s sci-fi remake on his list of dream projects: Dune. In a conversation with Variety, the director — whose film Arrival, another science fiction venture, just opened to rave reviews at the Venice and Toronto film festivals — talked about his desire to adapt Frank Herbert’s 1965 dystopian novel (previously made into a film in 1984 by David Lynch).

“I’m always looking for sci-fi material, and it’s difficult to find original and strong material that’s not just about weaponry,” Villeneuve told the publication. “A longstanding dream of mine is to adapt Dune, but it’s a long process to get the rights, and I don’t think I will succeed.”

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The 1984 film Dune, starring Kyle MacLachlan and a metal-Speedo-wearing Sting, is a notorious box-office bomb that has developed a cult following over the years. But Herbert’s epic novel, about an interplanetary battle to control the supply of a substance called “spice,” is a bestselling genre classic, and quite a few directors have attempted to bring it to the big screen. Prior to Lynch taking the helm, both Ridley Scott and Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted and abandoned Dune adaptations. (The 2014 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune chronicled the Chilean-French director’s ambitious plan for the film.) More recently, directors Peter Berg (Hancock) and Pierre Morel (Taken) each signed on to helm a remake for Paramount, but the movie never got off the ground.

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Paramount’s option on Dune expired in 2011, so the rights to the book have reverted to their original owner, producer Richard P. Rubinstein — which is probably why Villeneuve said that attaining the rights would be a “long process.” It will also, inevitably, be an expensive film; the production budget at Paramount was said to be at least $100 million. Still, if Blade Runner 2 does well, perhaps Villeneuve will have a better chance at the opportunity to spice up his life.

Watch a quick promo for David Lynch’s ‘Dune’ on home video: