Variety reports that French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) will land his other dream science fiction gig, as Legendary Pictures is eyeing him to direct their remake of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Sources tell Variety that Villeneuve is in early talks to direct Legendary’s “Dune” reboot for the company. Legendary has not commented on the news. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, Legendary closed a deal to the rights with the Frank Herbert estate for his iconic novel, granting the production entity not only rights to film but also TV-based projects on the sci-fi property.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC-bc0yx3Rk
Set in the distant future, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, whose family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, control of Arrakis is highly contested among the noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control of Arrakis.
Many liken the material to The Lord of The Rings of science fiction, so you can see why Legendary saw the potential for the material to become a franchise.
Denis actually mentioned a desire to tackle Dune not too long ago and it seemed like perfect timing as just recently Legendary picked up the film/television rights to the material.
He’ll be resurrecting another classic science fiction story with his Blade Runner sequel Blade 2049. Fans should be excited that the talented director is getting involved considering the likes of Peter Berg previously being attached to a remake.
SOURCE: VARIETY