In “Dune 2” Denis Villeneuve cleverly solved a major problem in the science fiction novel: the director in the FILMSTARTS interview

More than two and a half years after the first part of Denis Villeneuve’s visionary adaptation of Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking science fiction novel “Dune” was published, the second part finally awaits us on the big screen with “Dune: Part Two.” It tells the story of young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), now on the planet Arrakis among the Fremen people, fighting a fate imposed on him that could lead to a momentous war.

After the premiere of the science fiction sequel in London, we spoke with director Denis Villeneuve about the film. He not only told us: that he worked on “Dune” for six years and was able to watch Timothée Chalamet grow up in front of the camera. Villeneuve also explained to us why Zendayas Chani’s character has changed enormously from the book and has therefore solved a problem.

Denis Villeneuve never left Dune after part 1

Dennis Villeneuve: I haven’t really returned to that world because I stayed there the whole time. We shot the first part and as soon as we finished and released the film to the world, I was already writing and preparing the second part because I knew the studio was excited about the first part. And even though the story was that we had to wait and see how the movie would do, the people I worked closely with and the people at Legendary were confident that a catastrophe would have to happen for us not to get Part 2.

We all wanted to tell the whole story. And so I stayed in the world of Dune for six years. What was interesting about it for me as a director was revisiting a universe for the first time. When you finish a film as a director, you also see your mistakes. You can see where you failed. And so I was given a second chance in this world, and that was very refreshing and helpful to now be able to try to do better.

Dennis Villeneuve: Absolute. The first part really scratches the surface. We established the world in that and it was a film where we really had to have fun with the second part.

Dennis Villeneuve: Paul’s character carries the burden of being part of a prophecy or fitting into a particular prophecy of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. The Bene Gesserit is an association of sisters who manipulate politics from the shadows and see it as their mission to spread certain beliefs among the local population around a prophet and savior on various planets.

This is a way to control and subjugate them, and also to control their environment, to shape them and secure help for the future. And Paul knows he fits into this implanted pattern and fights against it. In response to this colonialism, he fights against it. He wants to avoid this path because he loves the Fremen and their native culture. He dreams of being part of their culture and not being someone who comes to exploit them.

Denis Villeneuve took Frank Herbert’s mistakes to heart

Dennis Villeneuve: When Frank Herbert’s first novel was published, he was very disappointed that readers thought Paul’s story and “Dune” were a celebration of revenge. He was very disappointed with this lecture because he actually wanted to achieve the opposite. He didn’t want to see it as hero worship, but as a warning against charismatic figures, against people who create cults. So he wrote a small second book, ‘Dune Messiah’, to make sure his idea was better understood and to address the problem that happened with the first book.

When I wrote the second part, I had ‘Dune Messiah’ in mind and wanted to make sure the film was seen as a critique of colonialism. And to do that, I use Chani as a character who will at some point take the main perspective of the film to create the necessary critical distance. I also wanted the Fremen to be depicted as a complex society, rather than just stuck in monolithic thinking.

The idea that young people are the ones questioning things may come from this: I’m French-Canadian, and before the 1960s, religion had incredible power. Where I come from, there was a lot of overlap between politics and religion. Religion dictated politics and that caused many problems until young students from abroad came home and criticized the system. Then we kicked the church out of parliament and that was a huge non-violent movement, the so-called Silent Revolution. This has led to a secularism that separates the institutions of church and state. And that’s actually what inspired me to create Chani as this character.

Timothée Chalamet found herself on the same path as Paul Atreides in Dune 2

Dennis Villeneuve: It was a very moving process for me with Timothée. It was the first time I was able to see an actor grow up in front of the camera. When he first came on set, he was still very young: he was 23 years old. He has been trying to find his identity as an actor, what kind of actor he wants to be and also how to maintain his own creativity in the big Hollywood machine. He still had so much to learn when he started, but he’s really grown up now. Not only because of the experiences he gained in part one, but also in the other films he made.

When he came back for part two, he was a completely different actor. Same talent of course, same fantastic actor. But he was much more confident in his technique. He felt much more comfortable in part two and was a mature actor there. Just like his character was a boy in part one and grows into a man in part two. It was very moving for me to see that Timothée goes through the same process as Paul Atreides, but fortunately he does not become a dark figure. I’m really proud of what he created in front of the camera. He had the first part on his shoulders and it was a blessing to see him grow over these two films.

I didn’t have much time with Zendaya in the first part. It was just a few days that felt like a promise. I was really looking forward to working with her on part two, in which she would play an important role. She is an incredible actress, with high professionalism and incredible drive. I could ask her anything and she completely blew me away. She is truly unique.

We were also able to talk about the ending of “Dune: Part Two” in an interview with Denis Villeneuve and asked him about “Dune 3: Messiah” and the prequel series “Dune: Prophecy”. You can read his exciting answers in the coming days here on FILMSTARTS.