Denis Villeneuve didn't get a phone call. In December 2020, WarnerMedia announced that Dune would stream on HBO Max on the same day it opened in theaters. Villeneuve found out by reading the news.
He went to Variety and called it a hijacking of "one of the most respectable and important studios in film history." He wrote: "There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here." He warned the decision might kill the franchise before it could find an audience.
Villeneuve first read Dune at 13. He and his best friend drew storyboards for an imaginary adaptation. Those boards sat in his father's desk for roughly 40 years.
The franchise survived the studio fight. Dune: Part Two came out in 2024.
People on Backlot are watching it this week.
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