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    2017 Film Countdown #1: From Arrival to Blade Runner 2049, The Dune Reboot Found its Director

    Bill WattersBy No Comments


    It was way back in February when word finally came out that Legenday’s reboot of the classic Dune series had found its director in Denis Villeneuve. At the time he’d had two award-winning back to back films with Sicario and Arrival and this year he added another award contender to his lineup with Blade Runner 2049. Now things are still in development and Denis is hard at work on the script.

    While Blade Runner 2049 was very much attached to it’s predecessor’s look and feel, Dune will be a full reboot so he gets to put his own spin on the classic Frank Herbert novels. Most people know of the 1980s David Lynch version and some saw Syfy’s miniseries version in late 2000. It’s only been in recent years that thanks to a documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune has the scope and exotic look envisioned by french director Alejandro Jodorowsky has been realized.  As with both Lynch and Jodorowsky, Villeneuve notes that the property has vast opportunity for creative spins. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, he said:

    When I did Prisoners and Blade Runner, I signed on a story. I was not allowed to bring in pink elephants, you know? Surely, they are my movies; I consider Blade Runner to be as close to me as Incendies. But for Dune, I am working on the script now. Maybe in six months, we’ll see: “oh, I’m unemployed!” Maybe they won’t like what I am doing.

    So for now we wait, but check out the original announcement of his attachment to the project below.

    Original Headline: It’s Official: The Dune Reboot Has Found Its Director

    dune-original1

    It has been rumored for a while that Legendary Pictures had been courting Sicario and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve for their upcoming Dune reboot. Now in under 140 characters, Brian Herbert (son of Dune author Frank Herbert) has confirmed that the contracts have all been signed, and Villeneuve will be directing.

    Back in late November, we’d reported on Legendary having secured the rights to the Dune series of novels from the Frank Herbert estate. The deal gives Legendary the option for both film and television rights worldwide. Brian’s tweet implies that Villeneuve will be attached to the film project, and we’ll keep an eye out for any news on around the TV front. It seems that studios are looking to go wider than a single format lately, with Lionsgate developing the Kingkiller Chronicles simultaneously for both TV and Film.

    The Dune projects would be produced by Thomas Tull, Mary Parent and Cale Boyter, with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert serving as executive producers.

    The property has been developed several times previously, with the 1984 David Lynch version being the most well known, with Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides. A few years ago MacLachlan took to twitter to explain the plot of Dune in a single tweet to a fan unfamiliar with the story:

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