Denis Villeneuve: “A second part to revisit the Dune universe and do it even better”

Tuesday February 12, director Denis Villeneuve apologizes and searches for words. After a week of promotion which took him and his English-speaking actors to Los Angeles then to Mexico, the Dune II caravan stopped in Paris. Fatigue and jetlag helping, his French plays hide and seek. But not his sense of humor, nor his wonder. The pleasure of diving back into the abundant and esoteric universe of Frank Herbert remains intact, more than two years after the release of the first part of the wanderings of the noble Paul Atréides, played by Timothée Chalamet, on the desert and hostile planet Arrakis. A return that sci-fi fans will discover in theaters this Wednesday.

“Like all filmmakers, when I finish a film, I only see the mistakes, so the idea is to improve. The positive reception of the first film encouraged us to continue. What gave me the energy to return to Arrakis was the possibility of revisiting the world we had built and making it even better,” argues the Quebec filmmaker whom Le Figaro met for a few minutes face-to-face. -head.

After carefully arranging his pieces on the chessboard, Denis Villeneuve reveals its full extent in this second part. Without denying the contemplative and meditative atmosphere which had been his strength, the director enters into the reality of the guerrilla war (and soon the war) which pits Paul and the Fremen nomads against the empire and its cronies the Harkonnen.

Dune II expands the circle of its antagonists. Among the newcomers, Austin Butler as the psychopathic Harkonnen heir, Feyd-Rautha. To slip into the diaphanous skin of this warrior war machine, Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley asked a coach and friend from the Navy Seals special forces to train him.

Also read: Dune by Denis Villeneuve: a fair return to the origins

Devis Villeneuve also recruited Frenchwoman Lea Seydoux to play the mysterious Lady Margot, an ally of the Bene Gesserit nuns. A surprise for the actress from The Beast. “I was in Budapest for a film when Denis was shooting his first part. I paid him a courtesy visit. Without realizing that he would offer me years later: a role. But when I arrived on the set, I felt at home,” she confided during the press conference, which brought together the entire cast in the Bristol lounge.

More explosive and bloody, “Dune II shows how Paul leaves adolescence to enter adulthood and become a leader. Dune II constitutes a warning against charismatic figures and the dangers of the marriage between politics and religion,” warns Denis Villeneuve. Timothée Chalamet was able to explore a new register: “Paul Atréides, refuses the destiny that awaits him. It’s a heavy responsibility that he doesn’t feel capable of. He finds himself in the position of a stranger who becomes the chosen one and who takes the head of a community. “When you play a character who holds power, the important thing is not what you represent or what you say, it is rather the secrets you keep to yourself, the looks you do not direct.” he observes.

This shift towards action posed great challenges for Denis Villeneuve, who multiplies the surprises - like this appearance of Anya Taylor-Joy - and the logistical discoveries: "In the first film, there were one or two sequences which were technically difficult. In this one, there are six or seven. It required a lot more resources and preparation.” While waiting to have a possible green light from Warner to tackle a third part and imagine other Dantesque sequences, the Canadian and his actors hope that this return to Arrakis will make the younger generations who discover Dune want to dive back in. in the novels of Frank Herbert.