How Many Dune Movies Could Denis Villeneuve Potentially Make?

How Many Dune Movies Could Denis Villeneuve Potentially Make?

Warning: The following contains some SPOILERS for Frank Herbert’s Dune novels!

With fingers tightly crossed that there won’t be any delays, next year will see the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. The Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Sicario filmmaker has become one of the industry’s most exciting directors, telling bold and visually striking stories each time out, and he has put together an incredible cast to bring Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi novel to the big screen for the first time since David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation.

A talented, Oscar-nominated filmmaker working with a talented cast to bring a beloved story to life is exciting in its own right, but there may be a lot more reason to get invested in Dune beyond merely next year’s movie. Dune could be the start of something that extends well past 2020.

That’s because Dune is not intended as just a one-off in the way other modern science fiction movies like Arrival, Interstellar or Looper were. Dune is meant to be the beginning of at least a 2-part series based on the property, which has an abundance of expansive source material. Which raises the question, how many Dune movies could Denis Villeneuve potentially make?

For a while now it has been said that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is being envisioned as a 2-parter. The first movie will cover approximately the first half of Frank Herbert’s novel with the second movie covering the second half. It's a 2-movie model akin to the cinematic adaptations of other beloved novels like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and IT.

This approach makes sense so as to not shortchange the story. Dune is an expansive novel, and while David Lynch’s film covers the whole book, it is not an especially faithful adaptation. In contrast, the Dune mini-series on the then-Sci-fi Channel was a 3 episode, 4 hour and 25 minute telling of the story. Frank Herbert’s novel is extremely complex with tons of characters and moving pieces, not unlike Game of Thrones. So it is advantageous from a storytelling perspective to give the novel two films to tell the story of Paul Atreides.

However, unlike something like The Lord of the Rings, Dune parts one and two are not filming back to back. They will shoot individually, and presumably the second one getting made will hinge on the success of the first one. I’ve already written about what a financial gamble Dune might be so it’s not impossible that we only get one Denis Villeneuve Dune movie. But let’s air on the side of optimism and assume that Dune is great and a hit, what then? Denis Villeneuve has said that his goal is to make two films, maybe more.

That ‘maybe more’ coda opens up a whole range of possibilities where two films could give way to an entire series and franchise. Dune can be like Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in terms of franchise potential; only here the story for more films already exists. Frank Herbert wrote six mainline Dune books before his death in 1986: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune.

What starts as a hero’s journey to avenge his family, free his people and overthrow an evil empire morphs over time into a metaphysical family saga, rife with political intrigue and religious elements that is interstellar in scope, taking place over literally thousands of years. If Dune is Robert’s Rebellion against the Mad King, the rest of the series is A Song of Ice and Fire, what comes after happily ever after. And things get weird too; we’re talking half-human, half giant sandworm weird.

The series is considered to waver in quality from title to title, and there is a major question of ‘filmability’ with parts of the Dune saga and how well this challenging material will land with mass audiences, but based on the sheer amount of story from Frank Herbert’s six novels alone, Denis Villeneuve could do at least a few more movies after the Dune two-parter.

The most obvious way for this series to be adapted would be to only focus on the first three novels, Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Those three novels take place in the same basic time period and follow many of the same characters. After that, there are massive time jumps. If that approach were taken, the series would theoretically require at least four movies, two for the first book and one each for the other two, unless somehow Messiah and Children were combined into one to form a tidy trilogy.

Only after those would it make sense to dig into the other novels. If it's successful, the mythology is dense enough to extend out even beyond Frank Herbert’s books. The author died after Chapterhouse: Dune and that novel ended with a cliffhanger, leaving some of the series’ story arcs unresolved. So years later, his son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Anderson used Frank Herbert’s notes to complete the saga with Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune. If Dune became a full-fledged cinematic series going that far into the story, the films would have to incorporate some elements from these later books, if not adapt them outright to complete the story in a satisfying manner.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson also wrote several trilogies in the Dune universe with events that take place before Frank Herbert’s work or fit into the timeline of that 6-book narrative. The events of these books could serve as either a prequel series or they could be cherry-picked and elements from them could be added to the main series of films.

Legendary also has the TV rights to Dune, so maybe it could take some of the stories, either by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson or Frank Herbert himself, and put those into television series, to complement the films, similar to what was supposed to happen with The Dark Tower and what is happening with The Kingkiller Chronicle.

A successful franchise is what every company in Hollywood wants, and Dune could be one for Legendary and Warner Bros. Essentially, if the success is there, Denis Villeneuve could basically live in the Dune universe for as long as he wants, becoming for this property what David Yates is for Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.

That said, how many Dune movies there will be and how many Denis Villeneuve will make may be two separate questions. If Denis Villeneuve makes two films and they are successful, maybe he decides to leave it at that, but Legendary keeps the franchise going with a new director or directors.

A lot is riding, on the success of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, perhaps an entire franchise. So how many Dune movies could Denis Villeneuve potentially make? At least 1, maybe 2 and hopefully a lot more.

Dune opens on November 20, 2020. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of all the movies heading to theaters this year.

ReelBlend #69: Rocketman Reactions And Our Game Of Thrones Finale Talk

ReelBlend #69: Rocketman Reactions And Our Game Of Thrones Finale Talk

The ReelBlend boys don’t get to record in person all that often. But when we do get together, it’s usually a passionate, energetic – and in this case, expletive-laden – episode of our regular movie-loving podcast.

ReelBlend #69 was recorded earlier this week while Sean, Jake and Kevin were together in London covering Dark Phoenix and Rocketman. Press play above and enjoy one of our liveliest episodes to date.

The episode starts with reviews, and we had two this week, from far corners of the globe. We LOVE hearing from listeners, and encourage anyone to drop us a review at ReelBlend@CinemaBlend.com. Gabe will make sure that we read them on the show.

The latest trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood dropped right before the guys started recording, so that became a hot topic of conversation.

But the biggest conversation this week was reserved for the Game of Thrones finale, which Kevin and Jake watched at 2 am London time in a bar/theater filled with GOT fans. They share that story, then the three guys get into an analysis of the finale, of the show in general, and how it stands up as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.

We know this is a movie podcast, so the guys eventually get around to reviewing Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, and sharing stories from the Rocketman and Dark Phoenix junkets. Also, Jake says that Avengers: Endgame won’t make his year-end Top 10, and that breaks Sean’s brain.

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

Zachary Levi Feels Like He Needs To Apologize For All The Shazam! Advertising

Zachary Levi Feels Like He Needs To Apologize For All The Shazam! Advertising

Zachary Levi is everywhere right now, and he's sorry. Kinda. The Shazam! star is clearly thrilled, but also humbled and a bit embarrassed at the massive marketing campaign for his DC movie. He is the face of the movie, and that face has been on billboards all over the place. Levi joked that it's a bit much, even to him:

It's a little abrasive, actually. I'm so unbelievably impressed by Warner Bros.' and New Line's promotional campaign. Like, I am everywhere, to the point where I feel like I have to apologize to people. Now I'm sorry. It was one thing when I was in a lot of places, and now it's like people can't go by a bus stop without being like, 'There's Zach, chewing bubblegum again.' So I apologize to anyone this is becoming ridiculous to.

No apology necessary. Shazam! seems to have a lot of supporters out there, and Zachary Levi's enthusiasm is infectious. He shared his advertising apology with ET on the red carpet of his movie's big Hollywood premiere.

Just last week, Zachary Levi pointed to himself in a gigantic ad in New York City. He seemed pretty happy about that, feeling like he finally made it.

He shared more of his gratitude and humility on Instagram, sharing photos from the Shazam! premiere.

As he wrote in part of that very candid post:

Truth is, I nearly gave up on the whole damn thing. Because of some bad programming I received as a kid, and despite the incredible jobs that I had been a part of, I still felt like a failure. That I had not, and would not, accomplish what I always thought I could or would or should. And then, perhaps in my darkest dark, I was able to save my own life thru the love and support and my friends and family, and the help of incredible professionals who took my hand and gently walked me back to understanding and loving myself, perhaps for the first time in my entire life. There is not a doubt in my mind that I was only standing on that red carpet last night BECAUSE I first learned to love myself while standing OFF of it.

Wow. Good for him. This has to be such an exciting time for Zachary Levi, and the whole cast and crew.

Shazam! officially opens next Friday, April 5, but it already screened for critics and some lucky fans at preview screenings. Those early screenings actually made more money than the previews for DC's Aquaman. Critics have raved about the movie, which currently has a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

So far, the ride seems to be pretty smooth for Zachary Levi and Warner Bros./DC in the wake of Aquaman's $1 billion hit -- and also in the sandwich between Marvel's Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. There doesn't seem to be much pressure on Shazam! to do anything more than it's already doing. However, the whole team would clearly love to come back and do this again in Shazam! 2, and that's going to take a strong box office showing. We'll see. Here's what else is headed to theaters as busy 2019 continues.

The Story Behind Endgame And Natalie Portman

The Story Behind Endgame And Natalie Portman

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame!

Avengers: Endgame truly lived up to its billing as the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to this point, providing plenty of callbacks and many surprising cameos. Perhaps most surprising among those cameos was Natalie Portman as Dr. Jane Foster, who hasn’t been seen in the MCU since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. However, this cameo was not all it appeared to be, as directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained:

Anthony: All she did new for this movie was-

Joe: The voice.

Anthony: A little bit of voice-over when she’s talking in the distance, that’s it.

Although we see Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in Avengers: Endgame, she didn’t actually show up to play the character again. Her appearance in the film was just old footage left over from Thor: The Dark World that was repurposed for the movie; the actress didn’t film any new scenes. She did, however, provide some voiceover for Avengers: Endgame, as the Russo’s told Entertainment Weekly.

In the film, there are shots of Jane Foster in the distance with some Asgardians, and Natalie Portman recorded voiceover of her character thanking them for taking care of her. It’s not easy to even hear what she’s saying, but it adds some background to the scene, showing that this is all happening in a living, breathing place. It’s also nice to know that it’s actually Natalie Portman’s voice we’re hearing.

Natalie Portman had indicated in the past that she believed she was done with the MCU; she didn't appear in Thor: Ragnarok and given reports that she was not happy with the situation that led to Patty Jenkins leaving as director of Thor: The Dark World, it seemed unlikely she’d ever be in a Marvel movie again.

So when Natalie Portman showed up to the premiere of Avengers: Endgame, fans wondered whether or not the actress had returned to the fold and if the long absent Jane Foster would be in the movie. It turns out she did and she was, just not in any major way.

In Avengers: Endgame, the shot where Jane gets up from her bed and Rocket Raccoon goes after her to extract the Aether off-screen was framed rather oddly. And since we didn’t see her and Rocket or her and Thor together, I think many of us assumed that Natalie Portman didn’t really film any new scenes and her appearance was either old footage or digital wizardry.

It would have been nice for her to actually see Thor again to close out that story, especially given that she survived the snap and how he was weeping over her in the Time Heist prep meeting. But it’s better than nothing, and Thor didn’t want to be there and probably didn’t want Jane to see him in his dilapidated state.

Thor did, however, see his mother Frigga in one of the film’s more emotional moments. She died before the Decimation and he was never getting her back, so their reunion and the God of Thunder getting the wisdom from his mother he so desperately needed arguably had more meaning than a reunion with Jane.

Still, it was nice to see Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster back in the MCU if only to remind us of how she played a big part in Thor’s early entry into the human realm. It’s also cool that the relationship between Natalie Portman and Marvel has thawed enough that she recorded the voiceover and showed up to the premiere. I wouldn’t expect this means that Jane Foster's Thor is coming in Phase 4, but you never know.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing. If you haven’t seen it, why did you read this article? And if you’re going to see it again, and why wouldn’t you, make sure you know what ticket to buy. Also, check out our 2019 Release Schedule to learn about all the other big movies coming this summer.

Rex's Journey From Star Tours To The Black Spire At Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Revealed

Rex's Journey From Star Tours To The Black Spire At Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Revealed

Back when Disneyland unveiled the original version of Star Tours, it was quite different than the version of the attraction we have now. Rather than having a confused C-3PO as your pilot, your tour ship was flown by RX-24, or R3X, a droid voiced by Paul Reubens who was even more inept at piloting the ship than 3PO. We already knew that R3X would be making his return to active duty in the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land, but at Star Wars Celebration we learned there's a whole story as to how he got there.

During the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge panel at SWCC last week, Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin revealed that, when the decision was made to turn R3X into a DJ at Oga's Cantina, he took on the responsibility of creating the story of how R3X went from becoming a Star Tours pilot to a cantina DJ. According to Martin...

The short story is, Rex kinda flunked his way out of Star Tours. Eventually, through some, misadventures found his way to the Rebellion. In the final battle of the Galactic Civil War, the battle of Jakku, had a very epic Tie Fighter chase, he ends up crash landing on Batuu. There he is rescued by the local droidsmith Mubo, where’s he repaired and made into a DJ for Oga’s Cantina.

While Matt Martin doesn't explain exactly how R3X became part of the Rebel Alliance, Imagineering Story Editor Margaret Kerrison says that what Martin wrote was something like 17 pages long, so it probably maps out a very specific story as to how R3X joined the Rebellion. That's a story I'd love to read.

R3X proves during the original Star Tours that he's not much of a pilot. He takes the wrong way out of the hanger and ends up completely missing his destination, the forest moon of Endor, and entering a meteor shower. Why the Rebellion would want somebody like that to pilot a ship I can't guess, but I suppose when you're fighting the Galactic Empire, beggars can't be choosers.

While it has never been seen in a movie, the Battle of Jakku is a major event that takes place following Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi that was the final nail in the coffin of the Empire. It's more than a little hilarious to imagine that somewhere in that battle R3X was up in space flying a ship. He's apparently been on Batuu ever since, but now, he's a DJ.

Paul Reubens returned to record a lot of new dialogue for R3X. This will certainly be a lot of fun for fans. While it's hard to argue that Star Tours isn't a greatly improved attraction now, R3X had a certain charm to him that is missing now..

Of course, actually getting to experience R3X at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge won't be easy. From all reports, Oga's Cantina, won't be a location with a great deal of space, even less if you want to sit down, and you can be sure it's going to be incredibly popular, if only because it will be one of the few places at Disneyland where alcohol can be purchased.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens at Disneyland May 31 and Walt Disney World August 29.

My Spy Trailer: Watch Dave Bautista Show A Kid How To Be A Secret Agent

My Spy Trailer: Watch Dave Bautista Show A Kid How To Be A Secret Agent

From his wrestling career to his various action-packed movie roles, Dave Bautista has proven himself to be a badass numerous times, and it’s no different for the upcoming My Spy. In this action-comedy, though, Bautista’s character is forced to teach a clever young girl the skills required to be a spy, and you can see how this amusing turn of events unfolds in the first trailer for My Spy below.

My Spy (I see what they did there) sees Dave Bautista playing JJ, a hardened CIA operative who’s not a people person, but believes is good at his job. Unfortunately for him, following an operation gone wrong, he’s demoted and has one more strike until he’s permanently barred from intelligence work. Making matters even more complicated is that the 9-year-old daughter of the family JJ’s been sent to spy on, Sophie, played by Chloe Coleman, learns what he’s up to. Further showing that JJ’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, he fails to remember that Chloe’s standing nearby and recording him while contemplating killing her to prevent her from blowing his cover. Not a good look, dude.

In exchange for Chloe keeping silent about his mission, JJ must teach her how to be a spy, and fortunately he has the good sense not to start her off with something like firearms training or walking away from explosions. Still, Chloe’s a smart girl, and she takes to the more cerebral elements of spy-dom quite well, like the lie detector test and creating a distraction to get past JJ (poor fishy).

As was the case with Vin Diesel in The Pacifier and Dwayne Johnson in Tooth Fairy, My Spy is Dave Bautista’s opportunity to play out the ‘tough guy who shows his softer side while spending time with kids’ kind of story. So while JJ will teach Chloe secret agent skills, she’ll show him how to have fun around people, even if it results in awkward, Shrek-like dances. However, it will be interesting to see what happens to their relationship as JJ gets deeper into his mission and learns how Chloe’s family is connected to the people he needs to apprehend. My Spy’s cast also includes Ken Jeong, Kristen Schaal and Parisa Fitz-Henley.

Along with this trailer, STX Entertainment released the first poster for My Spy, with Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman rocking cool, leaning poses, which I suspect is another thing spies are taught to do.

Directed by Get Smart’s Peter Segal and written by Red’s Jon and Erich Hoeber, My Spy hits theaters later this year, so check back with CinemaBlend on where it ends up being specifically placed on the calendar. You can also scan through our 2019 release schedule to find out what other movies are coming out later this year, including other Dave Bautista releases like Avengers: Endgame and Stuber.

The Rock's Trainer Gives Advice On How To Get As Ripped As Dwayne Johnson

The Rock's Trainer Gives Advice On How To Get As Ripped As Dwayne Johnson

On top of Dwayne Johnson's electrifying charisma, a big part of what has made the wrestler-cum-actor the biggest action star in the world is his impressive physique. The Rock maintains a figure so ripped that it would make even the most chiseled action figures blush. There’s a lot that goes into getting that buff, but Johnson’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Rienzi has shared one of the core philosophies that governs his training approach for his client. He said,

One thing I always preach is intensity. A lot of people either aren't lifting the right weight or with the right intensity. And the rest periods between sets are very important—you're going to get much more of a benefit out of the muscle, no matter what your goals are, if you keep your rest periods shorter.

If you’ve ever listened to Dwayne Johnson talk about his workouts, or seen his massively followed Instagram account, you know that he brings the intensity. That is something emphasized by his trainer, who believes that is one element that is lacking from a lot of people’s workout routines. When Johnson lifts, he isn’t just going through the motions in a perfunctory way, he is putting real effort and intensity into it.

In his conversation with Men’s Health, Dave Rienzi also mentions the importance of rest periods between sets. A rest period is not supposed to be five minutes for you to chat with the other people at the gym, watch a video on your phone, or take pictures for the gram. Your rest period should be just long enough for you to be ready to do another set.

Naturally, this will be slightly different for everyone, but what Dave Rienzi is recommending is that a general rule of thumb is that shorter is better. Another thing he mentions is that people aren’t lifting the right amount of weight and while that may be true, the ‘right amount’ will be different for different people, and many may not know what that amount is without the help of a professional trainer.

My interpretation of Dave Rienzi’s advice is that when you workout, you need to workout; you need to workout hard and fatigue your muscles, of course always doing so in a safe manner with proper technique. This advice makes total sense given what we’ve seen of The Rock’s workouts. Dwayne Johnson is a busy guy; he doesn’t have time to dilly-dally. He is working out hard and for results.

Obviously there is a lot more than this that goes into getting as ripped as Dwayne Johnson. Proper nutrition and professional training play a huge role in how he achieves his physique and those resources aren't available to everyone. Even if you were able to mimic his workouts to a T (which you probably shouldn’t do right away if you’re just starting out), you would still be bound by your own genetics and what your body is capable of.

Still, The Rock and his trainer get results; results that have to be perfect every time he steps in front of the camera. So if you’re going to try to get as ripped as The Rock, following his trainer’s methodologies isn’t a bad idea.

You can next see what high intensity and short rest periods can do when Dwayne Johnson stars in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on August 2nd. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see how it fits into the larger slate, and for details about all of this year’s biggest movies.