ARRIVAL’s Denis Villeneuve to Direct DUNE Remake

Back in December, it was reported that Legendary were looking to sign up Denis Villeneuve to direct their Dune remake – and now it’s been made official!

Villeneuve is one of the hottest directors in Hollywood right now, having helmed Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival and the upcoming Blade Runner 2049, and now he’s been confirmed to direct a film that he has previously described as a dream project.

This news was confirmed on Twitter by Brian Herbert, the son of Dune author Frank Herbert and the author of several Dune novels himself.

It's official -- Legendary Pictures has signed the very talented Denis Villeneuve to direct the exciting new DUNE series film project.

— Brian Herbert (@DuneAuthor) February 1, 2017

Legendary picked up the film and TV rights for Dune in November, and it was only in September that Villeneuve said, “A longstanding dream of mine is to adapt Dune, but it’s a long process to get the rights, and I don’t think I will succeed.”

Clearly some dreams do indeed come true.

Dune began life back in 1965, with Frank Herbert’s original novel tying for the 1966 Hugo Award and then winning the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Set in the distant future, the story centres on Paul Atreides as his family takes control of the desert planet known as Arrakis. With valuable resources key to the tale, what unravels is a plot that’s full of politics, betrayal, and man’s relationship with nature. A Kyle MacLachlan-starring, David Lynch-helmed movie followed in 1984, which went on to become a cult classic, and then Syfy developed a Dune TV series in 2000. As for written works, Herbert penned five sequels himself before Kevin J. Anderson and the aforementioned Brian Herbert expanded that written world even further.

As ever, expect more on this as it develops.