There is a syndrome in science fiction and fantasy cinema. Studio executives often cause it with dollar signs in their eyes. They see opportunities where the rest of us see a cash grab. The question is whether the newDunefranchise will fall prey to this problem. With the second half of the duology hitting theaters in March, what happens next?
There are many issues at stake, many of which involve money, but some of which involve the story itself. There are plenty of paths for the story, but is there a point where everyone needs to sit back and say enough is enough?
The Story So Far
House Atreidis has come to Arrakis, the planet known as Dune. They have come to take over spice mining from the evil Harkonin, who have been removed from power by the Emperor.
Paul Atreidis is the only son of Duke Leto and his concubine, Lady Jessica. He is also the Kwisatz Haderach, the foretold perfect being produced from centuries of careful breeding. Paul is strong-willed and has visions of the future. When the Harkonin return to take back the planet as part of the Emperor’s plan, the Duke is murdered, and Paul and Jessica escapeinto the desert. There, they find the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis, and hope they can find safety and Paul can find his destiny.
The sequel will pick up right where the first one left off. It will look at how the Fremen take in Paul, how he deals with the knowledge that he is seen as a savior, and how he leads the Fremen to abolish the Harkonin rule over their planet. We will see the Emperor, his daughter, new Harkonin characters, and the return of some familiar faces. We may even see Denis Villeneuve’s take on Guild Navigators.
However, regardless of what we see, shouldDuneremain atwo-part storyand not a trilogy, as so many movie franchises have become? Is there any more of Paul’s story to tell? Or is this the end of theDunestory?
A Terrible Track Record
Let’s just put one thing out into the world. There are six initialDunebooks written by the original author, Frank Herbert, though this begins to expand afterward. It is often compared to theStar Warsuniverse, although that contains somewhere 381 books, not including comics and short stories.
But let’s keepStar Warsin mind for one minute. Whenthe original trilogywas released, it had a true start, middle, and end. The stories were wrapped up, the lore was preserved but allowed to remain slightly mysterious, and our heroes got their big send-off. Home run to Mr. Lucas. But then he found himself with screaming fans, endless amounts of merchandise, and more money than god. So he wrote the prequel series, made the prequel series, and disappointed a generation.
But Disney saw some great potential. When they purchased LucasFilms, they began exploitingStar Warseven more than Lucas, devising shows, cartoons, spinoffs, and the sequel series that, much like the prequels, hurt everyone’s heads and made them angry. But still, they persist.
Dunesits in the sweet spot of not being owned by Disney. But it is owned by Warner Bros., a company whose track record for running franchises into the ground is not great.Case in point:Harry Potter. They made a series that is much beloved but fell into the trap of splitting the final movie into two parts. It was not a great move, but they did it and made tons of money because, of course, people were going to watch.
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Then, they made even more money on merchandising. And then they took a little book calledFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themand turned it into a series of incomprehensible films that baffled audiences with its blatant name-grab. And now, David Zaslav, the Kwisatz Haderach of Warner Bros. Discovery, has said that the company is seriously considering rebooting the entireHarry Potterseries with new actors.
So what do you think they’ll do withDune?
Can Warner Bros. Play It Cool?
In the end, Warner Bros. will do what is best for Warner Bros. They may entice the actors for a third film, which has beenteased by Villeneuve, or even more, but anything past a trilogy or evenDune: Part Twomay not be the same. The majesty of the first two will be the high watermark of the franchise. Much like theStar Warssequel films, they may look fantastic, but the studio will not give them enough time to reach the achievements of the first.
Timothée Chalamet is a young actorwith many projects ahead of him. It would be strange to see him move forward with the series unless Denis Villeneuve were still involved, though he may return for a third film.
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That being said, we can always hope that if they decide to move forward, they do it in a way that is both pleasing to fans and true to the books. These are fans whose insistence on detail rages like that of theLord of the Ringsfans. Most directors don’t care to delve that deep, and most studios don’t care about that level of fan service. But these are huge, sweeping epic stories that need vast artistic expression and plenty of creative space in which to breathe. Warner Bros. Discovery is making every attempt to cut financial corners.Dunemay not exactly be a top priority. For fans of the books and fans of the duology, this may actually end up being a blessing.
