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The highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning sci-fi epic was released on March 1st. Warner Bros.’Dune: Part Twodominated the domestic box office this weekend, earning $81.5 million. According to estimates from Comscore, it marks the biggest opening of 2024.
The film debuted with nearly a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. A major compliment it received is for the outstanding performances of its A-list cast. The cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and others.
Despite all the smooth sailing, Villeneuve dropped the bombshell about the toughest call he made in the sequel. Surprisingly, it wasn’t about giving Florence Pugh a blink-and-you-miss-it part.
Dune 2 Box-Office Run Leaves ‘Part One’ in the Dust With a Budget Lower Than Brie Larson’s ‘The Marvels’
Denis Villeneuve Reveals Toughest Decision inDuneSequel
Despite having two movies—each over two hours long—directorDenis Villeneuve– couldn’t include every detail fromFrank Herbert’sDune. In a recent interview withEWfor their cover story onDune: Part Two, which has thebiggest box-office opening of 2024, Villeneuve shared the toughest cut he had to make from the source material. He first went on to say:
“When you adapt, there’s always some kind of violence toward the original material. You have to change things, you have to bend, you have to make painful choices.”
The French-Canadiandirector admitted that removing Stephen McKinley Henderson’s character Thurif fromDune 2was one of the most difficult decisions he had to make while making the film. He added:
“One of the most painful choices for me on this one was Thufir Hawat. He’s a character I absolutely love, but I decided right at the beginning that I was making a Bene Gesserit adaptation. That meant that Mentats are not as present as they should be, but it’s the nature of the adaptation.”
Thurif is one of Paul’s companion-teachers on Caladan.Dune: Part Twodidn’t hesitate to shake things up from Herbert’s original story. For instance, Chani (Zendaya) is more independent in the film.
She openly opposes Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) rise as the Fremen messiah, unlike in the book where she’s more loyal. Paul’s sister, Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy), only appears as a fetus and briefly as her older self in a dream.
“There’s no hard feelings”: Marvel Star Tim Blake Nelson Forgives Denis Villeneuve for Cutting His Scenes from Dune 2 – Who Was He Playing?
Denis Villeneuve Apologizes to Florence Pugh for Small Role inDune 2
InDune 2,Florence Pugh‘s role and the involvement of Irulan surprised many viewers. In the book, Irulan isn’t a major character but contributes through chapter excerpts.
SplittingDuneinto two movies allowed Denis Villeneuve to expand the story and characters. Even Pugh’s casting hinted at a potentially larger role for Irulan. But that wasn’t the case.
Though the Oscar-nominated actress herself confirmed that her role was intentionally small, Villeneuve kept apologizing to her for it. She said:
“It didn’t matter how big my role was…When I chatted to Denis, he kept apologizing and saying ‘In this one, it’s really not a big part. I won’t be offended [if you say no].’ I was like ‘I don’t care! I just want to come and watch you work. This is a dream.’”
The franchise is set to avoid repeating the mistake of giving the actress a small role inDune 3. The third movie will adaptDune: Messiah, where Irulan has a larger role compared to the first novel.
“I did that just to put Paul more on edge”: Denis Villeneuve’s Controversial Dune 2 Decision Won Hearts But Let Down Book Lovers in a Major Way
Dune Part: Twois currently screening in theatres.
Shreya Jha
Articles Published :1042
Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.
