Denis Villenueve’s Dune is ‘pretty much the first half’ of the book

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been open about the fact that he sees the upcoming film – which is currently expected to reach theatres and the HBO Max streaming service on October 1st – as the first part of a two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel. That's why he's not sure about the HBO Max release plan, feeling it will "kill the Dune franchise" before he has the chance to make the second half of the adaptation. Speaking with Collider, screenwriter Eric Roth has now confirmed that he has seen Villeneuve's Dune, and the story it tells is "pretty much the first half" of Herbert's book.

Roth said, 

It’s completely the first half. Yeah. I didn't know when we started, so I think I adapted a little more than the first half and started going into the second half of the book. But I've seen the film, it's pretty much the first half."

Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts worked together to assemble a shooting draft that was shorter than the script Roth initially turned in, which he describes as "a big, full, overwritten Eric Roth draft that had certain things special to me". Roth has previously said his draft was 200 pages long.

It needed to be, honestly, cut down and sort of harnessed, and Denis did some of that, and they eventually brought in a writer — I was busy, so they brought in a writer named Jon Spaihts, who is a wonderful writer, who I think kept it grounded. And I think he… I don't want to say Lord of the Rings, but I think it's really pretty spectacular. He’s a visionary of his own kind, Denis."

Roth did write a treatment for the second half of the adaptation, but doesn't expect to be involved with the writing of the script for the next film.

I’ve got to tell you that I think I've done as much as I can do. I also have other things I want to do. I'm 76 years old, and these things obviously take a long time to do. And so I have a few others I'm excited about. And hopefully people love Dune so much that they do want to have a second part, and I'm sure Denis would do amazing version of that."

Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, "a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding", who 

must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Chalamet is joined in the cast by Oscar Issac as Paul's father Duke Leto Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica; Josh Brolin as troubadour-swordsman Gurney Halleck; Jason Momoa as swordmaster Duncan Idaho; Javier Bardem as helpful tribe leader Stilgar; Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Harkonnen's brutish nephew Glossu Rabban, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as ecologist Doctor Liet Kynes, Charlotte Rampling as the emperor's truthsayer Reverend Mother Mohiam, David Dastmalchian as the twisted Piter De Vries, Chang Chen as Atreides family physician Dr. Yueh, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Master of Assassins for House Atreides; and Zendaya as Chani, "a mystery woman who haunts Paul in his dreams".

Mary Parent and Cale Boyter produced Dune with Villeneuve. Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull, and Kim Herbert served as executive producers. Kevin J. Anderson was the creative consultant.