Denis Villeneuve says he’ll only make ‘Dune Messiah’ if it’s “better” than ‘Dune: Part Two’

nme.com:

Dune and Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve has commented on what it would take for him to make a third film in the sci-fi franchise.Speaking with Empire, Villeneuve spoke about the newly-released Dune: Part Two, in which he completes his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s first Dune book.

Villeneuve has not shied away from addressing the potential of a third Dune film, though he previously stated that he’s planning to take a break first.Now, Villeneuve has reiterated to Empire that he doesn’t have Part Three – dubbed Dune Messiah after the book of the same name – on his mind right now: “I did both movies back-to-back, which makes absolute sense for me.

I felt that it was a good idea to move forward right after Part One. We were already designing, writing et cetera. But it also meant that for six years I was on Arrakis non-stop, and I think it will be healthy to step back a little bit.”However, he isn’t distancing himself from Dune Messiah entirely, outlining several criteria that have to be met first: “First, make sure that we have a strong screenplay.

The thing I want to avoid is not having something ready. I never did it, and now I feel it could be dangerous because of the enthusiasm.