Denis Villeneuve in talks to direct 'Dune' reboot

I have a feeling that I'm going to be writing about Denis Villeneuve quite often over the next few years. After starting with an acclaimed foreign indie in 2010 (the Oscar-nominated Incendies), Villeneuve has steadily elevated his career to new heights on a yearly basis. He dazzled audiences with Prisoners, generated endless speculation with Enemy, and created one of the best white-knuckle thrillers in recent memory with Sicario, all before directing Arrival, an instant sci-fi classic that will go down as one of the best movies of 2016. The major studios have taken notice, and now, Villeneuve is getting ready to tackle bigger projects. Two days ago, the first trailer for Blade Runner 2049 sent cinephiles into a frenzy, reassuring any worried fans that the franchise was in good hands. Now, it appears that Villeneuve may be in contention to direct another science fiction property that could be quite enticing to fans of the genre.

According to an exclusive report from Variety, Villeneuve is in talks to direct Legendary's reboot of Dune, the classic series by Frank Herbert that failed to translate to the big screen in 1984. The story of Paul Atreides, the Dune series follows a set of adventures on Arrakis, a desert planet that has become the central point of conflict in an interstellar future. Directed by David Lynch, the 1984 was a failed attempt at creating a blockbuster franchise, and no Hollywood studio has tried to resurrect the series since. After acquiring the rights in a deal with the Herbert estate, Legendary producers Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, and Cale Boyter are going to take another stab at the classic property. There was no comment on the Variety report from Legendary.

Essentially, I'll just say that I trust Villeneuve with any project. He hasn't missed yet, and I love what I've seen from Blade Runner 2049 so far. I'm not familiar with Dune, but the idea of Villeneuve continuing to explore the sci-fi genre has my interest. Look for more info on that project in the near future.

Image Credits: Lionsgate, IMDB