Dune director Denis Villeneuve has criticized the decision to release his latest sci-fi epic on HBO Max on the same day it hits theaters, saying his movie wasn’t made for television.
Speaking to Total Film, Villeneuve doubled down on some of his previous comments about day-and-date releases. He acknowledged the “tremendous pressure” the movie industry has been put under due to the COVID-19 pandemic but stated that he was still not happy about Dune dropping simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.
“The way it happened, I’m still not happy,” Villeneuve said of Warner Bros. release plans, noting how the pandemic had been the enemy of cinema. “Frankly, to watch Dune on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub. For me, it’s ridiculous. It’s a movie that has been made as a tribute to the big-screen experience.”
Warner Bros. announced its industry-shaking approach to distributing movies last year, revealing that the studio’s entire 2021 film slate would be available concurrently for an exclusive window on HBO Max. Villeneuve opposed the decision at the time, saying that film is “one of the very last artistic, in-person collective experiences we share as human beings.”
Villeneuve also expressed his concerns over Dune not having the chance to perform financially in order to be viable, saying piracy would be a consequence of the dual release. The filmmaker further touched on the pressure of Dune performing at the box office while speaking to Total Film, though he displayed fresh hope for the future of the franchise.
“Everybody at Warner Bros and Legendary, they are 100 percent behind the project,” he confidently revealed. “They feel that it would need a really bad outcome at the box office to not have a Dune: Part Two, because they love the movie. They are proud of the movie, so they want the movie to move forward. And they still did half of it. So, you know, I’m very optimistic.”
Dune is the first of a planned duology adapting Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel. Villeneuve has already confirmed that Zendaya’s character would emerge as the protagonist of the adaptation’s next installment, taking the reins from Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides who is the main focus of the upcoming release — which is due out on October 22.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
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