Dune Messiah is officially on the way as Deadline, one of the most reliable sources for news
in hollywood have revealed in their recent article, that Legendary are in development
on a final Dune movie from director Denis Villeneuve.
Alongside this we got news that the director is aiming to adapt the bestselling book Nuclear
War: A Scenario, and that film will follow the release of his Messiah film.
But what does this mean for the release date of Dune Messiah, and will he work on his Rendezvous
With Rama project first, a film that has been in development for some time, and one that
is closer to filming than the other two.
In this video, I'm going to be discussing all of the latest news, giving my own thoughts
on the announcement of Messiah, and diving into a potential release date window.
Before I get into it though, if you want to keep up to date on any of my future content
surrounding Dune Messiah and beyond, then don't forget to support this upload by giving
it a like rating and subscribing to the channel.
But without further a do, lets dive into the confirmation news for Dune Messiah.
So since the release of Dune Part 2, we've been wondering when we would hear about the
final film in Denis Villeneuve's planned trilogy with Dune Messiah.
Not only did Part 2 succeed, it's on track to nearly double the box office gross of part
1, and you would think that Legendary and Warner Bros would be all in with the next
one in announcing that film in the weeks ahead.
Now of course, Messiah is a story that calls for a break before getting to see it, as for
one it takes place over a decade after the events of Dune Part 2, and concludes nearly
16 years after.
But we've already seen Denis make changes to the Dune material for it to work on the
big screen and you'd think he'd do the same with a book as challenging as Messiah.
It's not just a question of time though, because the director himself has already stated that
he's working on numerous projects alongside his final Dune film, including an adaptation
of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama.
So it left us asking, how would this all work and when would we get to see his Dune Messiah
film.
Well last night, we got our first update on the project.
Deadline, probabaly one of the most reliable sources in Hollywood have confirmed that Dune
Messiah is now in development and that Denis Villeneuve has also added another project
to his growing list of films.
In their article, the outlet said, "in a deal worth $500,000 against $1.5 million, Legendary
Entertainment has optioned Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen‘s nonfiction book
Nuclear War: A Scenario as a potential reteam with its Dune Part 2 director Denis Villeneuve.
The expectation is that Villeneuve would take this one as another giant project after he
completes Dune Messiah, which he and Legendary are developing as the conclusion of the trilogy."
I'll come on to that Nuclear War project towards the end of this video, but starting with Dune
Messiah, it is promising to hear that the film is now in early development.
Now yes, this confirmation has not come from Warner Bros like it did a few years ago with
Dune part 2, but it does make sense that we're hearing this through deadline, because as
I said, Denis is likely going to be working on another project first.
All of the director's recent interviews have signalled that he wants to make his Rama adaptation
next.
So that would mean that Warner Bros and Legendary would probabaly wait to officially post about
Messiah or talk about potential release dates.
And this brings me on to discussing a potential release date window for Denis Villeneuve's
Messiah film.
Now I have already spoken about my predictions for this in multiple videos since the release
of Dune Part 2, and even though things may change when it comes to the director's current
schedule, like for instance that he might decide to focus on Messiah before Rama, I
think I'm sticking with the original time frame that I predicted before.
I said that in 2025 or 2026 we'd see his Rama film.
And then in 2027 or 2028 we'd finally get his adaptation of Dune Messiah.
The reason I predicted this was that Denis normally releases a film every 2-3 years,
minus dune 2021 which released in a difficult time during the pandemic.
And with it being mentioned recently that his Rama script is almost complete, I'd expect
that to go into production first.
It would allow for a break between Part 2 and Messsiah, and while it's not the 12 years
that the book calls for, it still allows for a bit more time so that the actors can age
up a bit.
And don't forget they can also use makeup and other filmmaking tools to aid that process
too.
There is a big question surrounding the character of Alia Atreides, because she is 16 by the
time that Messiah book ends and she's also in a growing relationship with another character
from that book which fans have claimed might be a bit weird given the overall timeframe.
Well, again, Denis is likely going to make changes to the material and Messiah itself
is a book that calls for a lot of that when it comes to adapting it for the big screen.
I'm not quite sure how he's going to pull it all off, because if he reduced the timejump
between Part 2 and Messiah, Alia would have to be even younger, and that wouldn't line
up with Anya Taylor Joy playing someone even younger than 12.
So there are some big things he will have to adjust to make this all work.
But after the success of Part 2, I doubt we're going to be waiting 12 years for that final
film.
I think a likely sweet spot is 2027 or 2028, and I think Denis will make changes that both
honour the material and make this a good film adaptation.
As a whole though, it's great news for Denis Villeneuve, his team and us Dune fans that
Messiah looks to be happening.
We've been calling for a Messiah film to complete the arc of Paul Atreides and all the success,
the work done on the previous movies, and the growing support from the fans has led
that into fruition.
I honestly cannot wait to see what the director, his team and the cast do with this final film
and I'm fascinated to see how they tackle the heavy character work on display, the twisting
plot points and even some of the added strangeness of messiah on the big screen.
Dune Part 2 ended with Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, a Messianic figure at the heart
of the series, sending his fremen up to start a holy war.
And the Dune Messiah book follows the aftermath of that war, the conspiracy set up against
Paul and his own struggles surrounding power, his visions and the push for an heir.
I wonder how weirder characters like Hayt, Scytale and Edric will be introduced in that
film, alongside whether Denis will tackle any of the Holy War before we move into the
political events of the novel.
Again, Messiah is set 12 years after the events of Part 2, and the length of that material
is much shorter than Herbert's first Dune book.
So I'd expect the director to make some big alterations to it, and I think you have to
for Messiah to work as a film adaptation.
I've done multiple videos discussing this in more detail already, so if you want more
on Messiah, I'd definitely check out my recent video where I talk about the potential of
the film, and then I'd also watch the one I did a few weeks ago, where I talked about
what I want from the final instalment when it comes to adapting its events.
I will link both of those videos in the pinned comment section if you want to go check them
out.
But yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how Dune Messiah is tackled, and of course,
I will be keeping you up to date on any news surrounding that film, so make sure you don't
miss any of it.
But coming now to the other update that this deadline article touched on, Denis Villeneuve
is aparently looking to make an adaptation of the recent bestseller, Nuclear War: A Scenario
by Annie Jacobsen.
Deadline said, "that the book explores a ticking-clock scenario about what would happen in the event
of a nuclear war.
It's based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who built
the weapons, have been privy to the response plans and have been responsible for those
decisions should they need to be made."
Now I haven't read this book, but I've heard that it's a current bestseller on the New
York times, and that it provides a very thrilling telling for the start of an atomic war.
The article said that Denis is looking to follow up Dune Messiah with an adaptation
of this book, and to be honest, I think this is a really good choice for him as a later
project to work on.
Last year, it was the year of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and that told the story
of the atomic bomb's development alongside the guilt and grief of its creator J. Robert
Oppenheimer.
The ending of that film stressed on the fear towards these weapons being used in the future,
and now director Denis Villeneuve is looking to do a film on what might happen in the world
today, if it did come to that.
Deadline said, "the expectation is that Villeneuve would look to adapt and/or direct Nuclear
War, producing with his longtime partner Tanya Lapointe.
The expectation is that this would be a chilling cautionary tale about where the world might
be headed in an age of political volatility at a time when too many countries have nuclear
capabilities.
Oppenheimer dealt with the title character and other scientists’ knowledge they could
be introducing weaponry that could destroy the world.
A nuclear armageddon could finish the job."
So we're going to have to see how this project develops and how it fits into Denis Villeneuve's
busy schedule.
I do worry that with 3 projects on his radar it may become overwhelming for him.
Having Rendezvous With Rama, Dune Messiah and Nuclear War all in stages of development
is a lot to think about and grapple with when it comes to film ideas and planning.
But if anyone can pull that off it is someone like Denis Villeneuve, who we forget years
ago had released two amazing films in the same year with Prisoners and Enemy.
He's a filmmaker that of course does a great job at directing, but he's also very good
at working with different writers when it comes to the adaptation process.
So hopefully all of these projects turn out to be great films like those in the rest of
his filmography, and I'm sure that in the year ahead we might get a better idea of what
his next film will actually be.
But that was my video discussing the confirmation of Dune Messiah.
Like I said, I think it will be a while before we get more on Villeneuve's Messiah film as
there will likely a bit of time between both part 2 and the final movie, and there are
other projects like his Rama one which he will likely work on first.
Regardless of when we get Messiah, it is great that Denis now has a chance to finish his
Paul Atreides trilogy, and if it ends up being as good as part 1 and part 2, I think we'll
be left with one of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time.
We'll have to see what happens when it comes to the release date window of his Messiah
film, and like I said, I think we're looking at around 2027-2028 for a potential release
date, if the director does make his Rama film next.
But let me know down below in the comments section what your thoughts are towards the
confirmation of Dune Messiah alongside how you would like to see Frank Herbert's second
novel adapted.
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