One of the most anticipated movies of the fall season is Dune. Based on Frank Herbert's hugely influential sci-fi novel, it tells the story of a son of a noble family, Paul Atreides (Timothy Chalamet), who travels to a dangerous planet where he finds himself in an epic battle over the planet's valuable resources. The movie is being directed by Denis Villeneuve, a Canadian filmmaker behind such movies as Sicario and Arrival. Villeneuve is quickly becoming one of the most exciting filmmakers in movies and his involvement with the ambitious project is where much of the excitement for Dune is coming from.
Dune is a notoriously large and complex piece of source material. Herbert's novel is dense with world-building, the history of this sci-fi saga, and the various characters who inhabit the story. It has been seen as a big influence on George Lucas when shaping Star Wars. But it has not had an easy time being adapted for the screen. Acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch tackled the daunting material in his 1984 movie. It was reported that Lynch turned down the opportunity to direct Return of the Jedi in favor of making this movie.
However, the movie was a critical and commercial flop, further adding to the belief that Dune was an impossible adaptation. However, Villeneuve's clear passion for the project helped make it a reality with his vision of the book being split into two movies something Warner Bros. was interested in pursuing. After premiering at several film festivals this fall, Dune has been met with considerable praise from critics, with many calling it one of the best movies of the year. However, there are still many who wonder what kind of success this massive project could find and one of Villeneuve's past movies adds to the fear that Dune may fail at the box office.
In 2017, Villeneuve took the very difficult task of making a sequel to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Released in 1982, Blade Runner starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a law enforcement officer known as a Blade Runner who specialized in hunting down Replicants, human-like androids, who have gone rogue. The movie itself failed at the box office and was seen as a failure. However, in the years that followed and the various director's cuts that were released, Blade Runner earned a reputation as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. With Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve returned to that futuristic world to continue the story. The sequel stars Ryan Gosling as a Replicant known as K who works as a Blade Runner. But when a shocking discovery causes him to question his entire existence, he begins searching for answers as to what happened to Rick Deckard.
It's not hard to see the ways in which Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 and Dune intersect. In both cases, the filmmaker tackled a retelling of a seminal piece of sci-fi storytelling as well as bringing an 80s sci-fi movie that was unappreciated in its time into the 21st century. In many ways, Blade Runner 2049 is the movie that convinced people Villeneuve was the right person to update Dune. Despite Scott's iconic visual style in the original movie, Villeneuve created his own beautiful and engrossing take on this world alongside Oscar-winning cinematographer, Roger Deakins. And the complex and interesting way the movie builds on the story of the original while also creating its own story thrilled fans of the 1982 movie and new fans alike. Sadly, the movie suffered a similar fate as the original as it bombed at the box office despite its critical acclaim.
In the world of modern movie-going, it is increasingly hard for movies outside of the superhero genre to find box office success. There have been notable examples of ambitious movies striking a chord with the public, but Blade Runner 2049 proves that a bold and masterful blockbuster with a skilled filmmaker at its helm can still fail to find its audience. Could Dune follow the same fate when it hits theaters? Dune also faces an obstacle that Blade Runner 2049 did not have with the added complication of streaming.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic through the theater-going business into chaos, there has been an ongoing debate as to the pros and cons of the day-and-date release of movies. As with the other Warner Bros. movies of 2021, Dune will hit HBO Max and theaters on the same day. Many filmmakers, including Villeneuve himself, have come out against the decision and voiced their desire for an exclusive theatrical release. Some critics have suggested the controversial release plan hurt the box office performance of well-received movies like The Suicide Squad and In the Heights. At the very least, having Dune on HBO Max will not help its theatrical run.
As much as there are similarities between Villeneuve's two sci-fi epics, the failure of Blade Runner 2049 obviously does not guarantee Dune will have a similar reception. The anticipation for Dune is already far greater than it ever was for Blade Runner 2049 and Warner Bros. has been marketing it as their big movie of the year. The source material behind both of them differs a great deal as well. Though considered a classic, Blade Runner may not hold the excitement among the general public that some thought it might. It was a risk to assume audiences would turn up 35 years later for a sequel to a movie that wasn't a hit to begin with. And while Dune might not hold strong name recognition either, it's likely audiences will feel more willing to go to a new adaptation of a novel than haven't read than to a sequel to a movie they haven't seen. The star-studded cast of Dune also cannot be overlooked as A-list talent like Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem along with star Timothy Chalamet will no doubt entice audiences.
The outcome of Dune's box office potential will soon reveal if it is doomed with Blade Runner 2049's curse of being overlooked or if Villeneuve's ambition manages to reach audiences this time around.
Dune premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.