Dune screenwriter Jon Spaihts teases “other cinematic prospects in the Dune universe”
Spaihts also talks about the plan to make a Dune Messiah film
Aux News Dune
Denis Villeneuve has already spoken in depth about wanting to cover more ground from Frank Herbert’s sprawling book series in the next Dune sequel , but it looks like he and screenwriter Jon Spaihts plan to stay on Arrakis even longer.
Villeneuve had recently talked about wanting to make a Dune sequel after Dune: Part Two that will cover the second Dune novel, Dune Messiah. In an interview with The Playlist, Spaihts confirms this plan.
“Dune Messiah picks up years after the close of Dune, and yes, Denis has talked seriously about making that film as well, as a conclusion of the trilogy,” he says. “Dune Messiah is a very interesting book, which in some ways, deconstructs Dune and plays as a cautionary tale, even more than Dune does, about the dangers of blending religion and politics, the hazards of following charismatic leaders, and the dangerous struggle that’s always alive between the individual and institutions.”
When asked if the second film will hint at what’s to come in Dune Messiah, Spaihts says he believes it will. He adds, “There are a few tantalizing strands that lead into the future and suggest that we might not be done in this universe, despite the fact that the ending of Dune as a novel, which will be the ending of the second film, is a very satisfying conclusion. There are a number of ways in which the book also sounds ominous notes, and there are hints of foreboding about what made be yet to come.”
He also gives updates on HBO Max’s Dune series, Dune: The Sisterhood. Spaihts, who was originally set to be the showrunner, stepped down to work on Dune, with Diane Ademu-John taking over. Though Spaihts notes that he’s “not allowed to talk about it very much,” he does say the series is “carrying on.”
Though he’s no longer involved on the show, he does say that he got “moved off it to work. Not just on Dune: Part Two, but to investigate other cinematic prospects in the Dune universe,” so it’s very possible that Dune is going the Star Wars route, with multiple spin-offs and sequels.
Perhaps Villeneuve was right when he said his Dune would become a “Star Wars for adults” (though, c’mon dude, Star Wars is for everyone).
24 Comments
My comical operetta We Merry Gentlemen of Arakis has never been closer to fruition!
You can’t stop before God Emperor Of Dune!
It would probably turn out better than the book, if only because we’d be spared the interminable passages of Big Worm’s Big Thoughts.
ie, the best parts
Can’t you just feel the bad breath of Brian Herbert… thick and reeking of onions.
Man, people who’ve only read the first book in anticipation of the movie are going to be disappointed to learn that the rest of the books are really bad.
Messiah isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. To my mind, it’s the actual Dune Part II.
Dune is the best and the others pale in comparison, yeah.Messiah and Children honestly felt like interludes to me, and I found God Emperor ponderous.Heretics and Chapterhouse felt more like a return to form for Herbert, if only because they focused more on one of the most interesting elements of the first book: the Bene Gesserit and their machinations. Still, they’re pretty weird, sometimes in hilarious ways (beefswelling, vaginal pulsing, etc…)
I think Dune is a pretty unusual book series in that there is not even remotely a consensus about the individual merits of the (Frank Herbert) sequels. (The books by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert are widely disparaged, though of course they also have their fans.)
Most—though not all—fans agree that the first book is the best; beyond that you can’t really find agreement on anything. Some think that all of them are great, others that none of the rest hold up, while still others find them a tremendously mixed bag. And even among that last group there’s no clear tendency: the entries that some fans hold up as the best are considered the worst by many others.Personally I feel that each sequel is, on the whole, less good than the preceding entry (and for Heretics and Chapterhouse I think I would have liked them better if they weren’t set in the Dune universe), but they all have such different strengths and weaknesses that they are hard to compare.
Pffft. The ones Frank Herbert wrote are good fun. God Emperor is a hoot.
I think Dune Messiah was better then Dune in a lot of ways. First and foremost, Herbert had already done a the heavy lifting in world-building in the first novel. Messiah spends a lot more time focusing on the characters. It just seemed to flow much better.
I disagree. I’ve read the next 2 and they are interesting and more importantly different. Read Dune again if you want more of the same. The sequels I’ve read so far, expand the already well written and realised universe. Those that want more of the same will be disappointed. This moves the story into new territory and doesn’t pander to fan boys. Something that killed Star Wars.
“Glorg is secretly in love with dune-mate and fellow sandworm, Krauk, but keeps its feelings secret because it’s afraid it’ll ruin their friendship! Will they or won’t they? Watch The Spice of Life and find out!”
Spoiler alert, Leto has them all killed..
Dune books ranking:DuneGod Emperor of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune
Heretics of DuneDune Messiah
Children of Dune
This is completely correct.
I’d swap Messiah and Chapterhouse, but otherwise excellent
2 of 6 out of order = excellent.
Wut?
I have been re-reading and so far my ranking is:1. Dune
2. Children of Dune (crazy plot twist)
3. God Emperor
4. Dune MessiahThese are so well written and thought out, it’s really amazing. I’ve not seen the TV movie of Messiah/Children, but that’s next up, and then Heretics…
What you’re saying is that Jason Momoa has a job for the next 40 years?
Keep cloning Jason Momoa, surely no-one would object.
As long as Villeneuve is involved and they disregard the comically inept cash grabs that are the non-Herbert Dune books, I look forward to whatever comes of this cryptic sound bite.
On “other prospects in an established cinematic cinematic universe”, you’re credited with writing Prometheus, Jon. Are you sure you want to go down that road again?
I’ve been reading the Dune Encyclopedia rather than re-reading some of the books (which are, as Casey Kasem would say, “fucking ponderous, man”) and I think that a much better movie in the Dune universe would be the story of the Butlerian Jihad. The story of how humanity allowed itself to become so dependant on technology that it was finally enslaved by it, until a brave woman finally leads a universe-wide rebellion against it. The story of how humanity had to deal with reinventing 10,000 years of development without computers. The story of how the Guild was born, navigating hyperspace through wild acid trips… Pretty much anything from that era I think would be more interesting than 2 hours of some worm man pontificating.