Denis Villeneuve Upcoming Project: After the humongous success of both of his Dune films, Dune and Dune: Part Two, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has moved on with his forthcoming projects. Villeneuve is a visionary auteur known for his impeccable direction, and his movies are proof of this. His recent film Dune 2 was hailed for all sorts of good reasons. However, one thing that the filmmaker was especially praised for was for providing justice to Frank Herbert’s novel by staying true to its details. Now, the filmmaker will once again be helming a novel-adapted film. Denis Villeneuve is in talks to collaborate once again with Dune’s production company, Legendary Entertainment. It will be an adaptation of a non-fiction novel by author Annie Jacobsen.
What’s in store for Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming projects?
Known for his faithful adaptation of the Dune film series, the celebrated filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is once again set to helm another novel-adapted film under the production banner of Legendary Entertainment. The company has recently picked up feature rights to the latest non-fiction novel from author Annie Jacobsen as a potential project for Villeneuve. The novel, titled Nuclear War: A Scenario, was released last month. It examines the nuclear military establishment.
Jacobsen is an internationally acclaimed author who writes about war, weapons, security, and secrets. She is best known for her 2011 nonfiction book Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base. Since Villeneuve is in talks to join the project, it isn’t certain yet what role he will play. He could be a producer, writer, director, or some combination of those roles. Additionally, Villeneuve’s longtime producing partner, Tanya Lapointe, will join the project.
This isn’t the first time a film has been adapted from a book about the creation of a bomb. Previously, Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan delivered a World War II-based film, Oppenheimer, about the creation of the atomic bomb. The film was a massive success, collecting seven Oscars and surpassing $950 million at the global box office.
Villeneuve and Legendary are currently developing a third movie in his Dune series. The filmmaker recently told The Hollywood Reporter that he is juggling several potential projects, including his long-gestating Cleopatra feature. Villeneuve emphasized that he isn’t in any sort of rush to commence work on his planned adaptation of Dune Messiah, Herbert’s 1969 follow-up book to Dune. He even clarified that the project’s timing is hingeing on getting the right screenplay.
Previously, the filmmaker said, “I have four projects on the table, currently. One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly. So, it would be a good idea to do something in between projects before tackling Dune Messiah and Cleopatra. All these projects are still being written, so we’ll see where they go, but I have no control over that.”
Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, which hit theaters in March from Warner Bros., is currently the year’s highest-grossing film domestically, having surpassed $250 million.
