Denis Villeneuve Officially Directing ‘Dune’ Reboot For Legendary

Feb 1, 2017

A Tweet from Frank Herbert’s son and fellow author Brian Herbert makes it official that French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival) will be indeed directing Legendary’s Dune reboot.

Brain’s words carry a lot of weight as the Herbert Estate will be consulted on the project. As Legendary recently landed the film and television rights to the sprawling science fiction property from the Herbert Estate.

 

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.

Denis was originally in early talks with Legendary Pictures for the directing gig back in December, after revealing during Arrival interviews in the fall that Dune was his dream project.

“I’m always looking for sci-fi material, and it’s difficult to find original and strong material that’s not just about weaponry. 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.”

Villeneuve recently landed a Best Director Oscar nomination for Arrival and is currently on in post-production with his Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049.

A production start hasn’t been revealed but it’s assumed that Denis could be heavily involved with the script development as well.

SOURCE: BRIAN HERBERT/HERBERT ESTATE

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