Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been teasing an adaptation of the second book in Frank Herbert’s sci-fi series, Dune Messiah, since before the first film was released. Now, it’s been confirmed that the follow-up to Dune: Part Two is actually in the works at Legendary Entertainment. To clarify, that’s book number two, but film number three, since the first book was adapted for the screen as a two-parter... still following?
The confirmation comes via Deadline, in an article about Villeneuve’s next project, which is seemingly planned for development post Dune: Messiah. (The film’s title has a colon, the book’s doesn’t – I don’t make the rules.) This will be based on Nuclear War: A Scenario, the bestselling nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen.
What is Nuclear War: A Scenario? This cheerful jaunt through apocalyptic possibilities details the real-life protocols that would “choreograph the end of civilisation as we know it” in the case of a global exchange of nuclear missiles. Based on dozens of interviews with military and civilian experts – with insight into response plans, crucial decision-making, and the weapons themselves – the book details this scenario minute-by-minute, making a “powerful argument” for nuclear disarmament.
It’s not yet clear how Villeneuve will adapt this for the big screen, though the success of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer might give us some ideas. In the meantime, the director will finally get to fulfil his long-term goal of completing his Dune trilogy (assuming Messiah is officially greenlit, though this seems pretty certain given the first two films’ critical acclaim and massive box office earnings).
That said, don’t expect Dune: Messiah to open anytime soon. As Dune: Part Two was unleashed on the world like a giant sandworm, Villeneuve said that his script for the third part was “barely an embryo” and admitted that he’d only want to actually develop it if “it’s going to be better than Part Two”. Again, that was one of the favourite sci-fi films in recent memory among critics and audiences alike, so he’s set himself a pretty high bar.
