Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve says he’s far more interested in a movie’s visuals than its dialogue.
Speaking with The Times of London, via Variety, Villeneuve said, “Frankly, I hate dialogue. Dialogue is for theatre and television. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema, but it is something not obvious when you watch movies today. Movies have been corrupted by television.”
Elaborating further on his point, Villeneuve explained, “In a perfect world, I’d make a compelling movie that doesn’t feel like an experiment but does not have a single word in it either. People would leave the cinema and say, ‘Wait, there was no dialogue?’ But they won’t feel the lack.”
What movies has Denis Villeneuve made?
In addition to 2021’s Dune and 2024’s Dune: Part Two, Villeneuve is known for directing 2013’s Prisoners, 2013’s Enemy, 2015’s Sicario, 2016’s Arrival, and 2017’s Blade Runner 2049. He’s also an executive producer on Max’s upcoming Dune: Prophecy prequel series.
Villeneuve briefly considered making a limited series based on Jo Nesbø’s 2014 novel The Son; however, he opted not to because he’s more interested in making movies than television series.
“It’s a project that I absolutely love,” he said. “And I love the book. I love that writer, very strong writer. And the thing is that, I brought this project to do a miniseries, because I thought that to bring it, to try to protect all the elements of the book, it was too much for a feature film. But I did feel that the adaptation we’ve made, which I think the screenplays were excellent, but far away from my sensibility.”
Dune: Part Two releases in the United States on March 1, 2024.
