Denis Villeneuve Believes Warner Bros. Will Move Forward With Dune 2

We're still waiting for Dune to finally hit theaters but Denis Villeneuve already has high hopes for a possible sequel for Paul Atreides' story. The director just stated that he is "optimistic" that Warner Bros. will move forward with a second film that will focus on a different character.

It's no secret that Villeneuve has big plans for his adaptation of Frank Herbert's books. The Blade Runner 2049 director had made it clear that there will be more than one film. However, there have been concerns about the sequels' future after the first one was delayed repeatedly during production and due to COVID-19.

So why is Villeneuve so confident about Dune 2? The filmmaker told Total Film (via ComicBookMovie) that he knows the studios are backing him up for the sequel.

"Everybody at Warner Bros and Legendary, they are 100 percent behind the project," Villeneuve said. He then pointed out that the studios are big fans of the first movie.

"They feel that it would need a really bad outcome at the box office to not have a Dune: Part Two because they love the movie. They are proud of the movie, so they want the movie to move forward," Villeneuve said. "And they still did half of it. So, you know, I'm very optimistic."

It's great to know that Warner Bros. and Legendary are fully invested in Dune considering that it's a project that people have been waiting for such a long time. In addition to that, Villeneuve has revealed that he already has major plans for Dune 2.

It was previously reported that Villeneuve intends to change things up with the Dune sequel. The director stated that he wants Zendaya's character Chani will be the main protagonist in the second film, which will be told from her perspective.

Dune stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. The film will hit theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.

Related: Dune Sequel Will Reportedly Focus on Zendaya's Chani