Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve and producers Mary Parent and Tanya Lapointe took part in a Contenders London panel this morning which explored the journey behind their blockbuster hit.
The trio were each asked what they hoped audiences would take from the movie. Villeneuve said: “I tried to be faithful to Frank Herbert’s vision about the idea of a cautionary tale, about being careful with charismatic figures, and the danger of blending religion and politics.”
In Dune: Part Two, Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, the movie raked in $714M global and catapulted Warner Bros to become the first studio to top $1BN earlier this year in studio record-time.
Legendary chief Mary Parent added: “I think Frank Herbert was prescient when he wrote the book. For us as a species, as human beings, as we find our way through the world, as much as we advance, we’re confronted with the same age old the things that make us human: power, how we treat the planet, how we treat our fellow human beings, war, resource hoarding…Herbert wrote these books in the ’60s, and here we are today.”
Parent added that the love story between Paul and Chani is central to the second film: “At the heart of the film, is a story of young people navigating their way in this world that they’ve been handed. That’s something that I think Denis did a beautiful job with, the story of Paul and Chani. They’re just two young people in love trying to find their way through this world.”
Villenueve concurred that the “essence” of the film contains a love story, something he discussed at length with Parent before filming got underway: “At the center of it would be the tragedy of a young man falling in love with a girl…”
For her part, producer Lapointe noted that the film deals with the nature of power: “It’s about how power is exerted. The way the Bene Gesserit are represented shows that power is not something that you exert or calculate or strategize on the short term, it is calculated over decades and centuries.”
Villeneuve and Lapointe discussed the prominent role played by female characters in the story, including the Bene Gesserit: “We had so many conversations about this, about each woman having her own agency. Even though Lady Jessica belongs to the Bene Gesserit, she has her own agenda.”
Villeneuve at one point playfully noted that if there were a third movie, the subject of war would be central: “In order to save his friends, he has to start a war,” he mused about the second film.
The filmmaker has recently confirmed that he will be back for a third instalment in the franchise.