They seem unworried about the epic franchise that now rests on their shoulders.
Paul must decide whether to accept his destiny and not just as a future duke.
“It kept growing in me, this idea.
So far, early audiences are responding to his vision.
(It hits U.S. theaters and HBO Max on Oct.
Here’s how he (and his many collaborators) did it.
Chalamet had previously auditioned for Villeneuve’s 2013 filmPrisoners, but didn’t make the cut.
“I didn’t want to leave,” Zendaya says.
I felt very welcomed by the crew and cast, everybody was so lovely to me.
Denis is so detail-oriented and thoughtful; any question I had, he had thought about before.
He had answers for everything, so I was able to speak with him and develop Chani very quickly.
I became very close with Timothee.
Other members of the star-studded cast were sought out directly by Villeneuve.
“I met him over lunch.
It’s that role that you want to play when you are a kid.
Another isDave Bautista, who stole the opening minutes ofBlade Runner 2049as a robot revolutionary-turned-farmer.
Villeneuve, though, finds much more interesting ways to channel Bautista’s charisma.
It took me forever to get a job,” Bautista says.
“We all have different techniques to how we work.
“Everyone was so humble to the story and to Denis.
There were no egos in that sense.
People were just there to do a great job and to deliver the best for him.”
Filling these roles with such starry actors is a big part of how Villeneuve has madeDunedigestible.
Some of the stars brought their own perspective to Herbert’s characters.
“It’s nice to be part of an ensemble,” Duncan-Brewster says.
“Duncan is a highly-trained chess player who is skilled and thoughtful in war,” Momoa says.
“Duncan is 100 percent a knight.
He’s very regal, and he’s sacrificed everything for this family.”
“It definitely felt like a family,” says Isaac.
I think we became a really tight-knit group.”
I could not stop laughing.”
But when it comes down to scenes, there’s something that shifts.
The World-Building… LikeLawrence of Arabiaand so many Western cowboys before him, Paul finds refuge and transcendence in the sandy landscape.
“It’s simplicity,” cinematographer Greig Fraser says of the desert.
Arrakis is not the only planet in this story.
“It affects the way you work.
If you work with a green screen, you don’t have the help of the set.
But coming onto those sets were so beautiful.
In my case, the set was frightening in itself so I didn’t have to do much.
But here, it’s very sort of scaled down, it’s very pure.
…and the Worm-Building
Sandworms live at the heart ofDune.
No wonder: They are awe-inspiring creations.
Villeneuve knew that he and his team would have to take a similarly scientific approach to developing the sandworms.
Its skin has to look thick enough to protect itself in the worst environment.
The most important element is that when you see it, it has a sacred quality to it too.
Soon after taking the job, Villeneuve decided that containing it all in one movie would simply be impossible.
“The book is so dense.
It’s a story that takes its strength from details,” Villeneuve says.
The question was, when do we stop the first part?
“[Denis] makes it digestible,” she says.
It catches you up so easily and effortlessly, you feel invested in this planet and world.”
“There’s so much story left to be told.
I would love to spend more time with these characters,” Zendaya says.
I also became wonderful friends with Timothee, who’s now like my family I would say.
We talk all the time about how fun it’s gonna be if we get to do it.
As Brolin says, “I think this was an obsession for him.
I don’t think it was just another movie.”
Why not be obsessed withDune?
No wonder it’s resonating.
“Duneshows a world that has gone too far, a world that has lost balance.
“Duneis also about a love of science and the power of the human brain.
We need to trust scientists.
That’s whatDuneis about; it’s about adaptation.”
Additional reporting by Tyler Aquilina
Motion direction and photography by Julian Ungano for EW.
