It's a good time for movie fans, as Dune: Part Two finally hit theaters, and is making money at the box office. Cinephiles are still reeling from the wild events of that movie, as well as Dune 2's ending. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has been getting praise for his work on the sci-fi movie. Although the director told us the decision he made that really helped the film, but made things hell on this cast and crew.
Dune: Part Two reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and some fans are hoping that Dune 3 gets ordered by the studio. Now that the movie is in theaters (with the original streaming with a Max subscription) he can open up about the filmmaking process. Villeneuve recently spoke to our very own ReelBlend podcast, revealing how difficult it was to film the movie in the middle of a dessert, especially with challenges that came with the natural light. You can watch a clip of him below, courtesy of CinemaBlend's Instagram.
As seen in the clip above, Denis Villeneuve explained how difficult it was to film Dune 2 with real, natural lighting. While this was an immersive film experience in theaters, it created some major challenges during shooting.
In the clip seen above, the Arrival filmmaker told ReelBlend how trying to film with real, organic lighting was challenging. They had to schedule around where the sun was located at any moment, with cast and crew working in the sand. As Villeneuve put it:
The light, it created a puzzle. Because of my will to work with natural light, (and) work in the real desert, it meant that we had to use only the sun as the main source of light. So it means that it created chaos in the schedule. If you have two characters talking at the top of a sand dune at sunset, it means that the scene will, necessarily, be shot at the end of different days. It's more difficult for the actors, and it becomes a real puzzle. If you have just two actors, something. But if you have a battle sequence, and then the locations are multiplied by two or by three, (or) by 12, because you have different angles according to sun. Really, it was like… I am in awe of how my first A.D. was able to manage to get us all out alive! It was really, really a puzzle for the actors.
As challenging as this might have been, it really paid off. Just like its predecessor, Dune: Part Two featured sprawling gorgeous dessert setting, which became a warzone throughout its runtime.
As previously mentioned, fans are curious to see if/when a third Dune movie happens, especially after the ending of Part Two. Denis Villeneuve seems to think an adaptation of Messiah is needed, but it's just a matter of when.
Dune: Part Two is in theaters now. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
