Kyle MacLachlan played Paul Atreides in the 1984 movie Dune, directed by David Lynch. It's now a cult classic, but it was a massive flop at the box office, making roughly $31 million off a reported production budget over $40 million. Now director Denis Villeneuve is working on a Dune reboot, putting together an incredible A-list cast for the film's release in 2020. What does MacLachlan think about this latest attempt to adapt Frank Herbert's novel for the big screen? Here's what he said:
I’m curious to see what happens, you know, he’s [Denis Villeneuve] getting together a great cast obviously, really talented people. It’s a challenging piece of material to try to bring to the screen, so I wish him luck with that, if anyone can do it, he’ll do a great job. He’s a terrific filmmaker….The book, I’m kind of a nerd about the book. I read it when I was 15 for the first time. I know the book very well. There are three sections, you can break that into three movies and still have a lot left over.
Yes, as Kyle MacLachlan told AM to DM, Dune is a story that doesn't have to be told in one film. Denis Villeneuve has already said he plans to make multiple films. Last year, Frank Herbert's son Brian said he had just received a draft of the Dune screenplay for the first movie, which covers about half of the novel.
Timothée Chalamet was the first star to be named for the 2020 movie, and he'll be playing Paul Atreides. Kyle MacLachlan said "He'll be great," and had this classic quip when asked if he had any advice for the young star when playing Paul:
Go easy on the spice.
He knew not everyone would get that reference, but Dune fans enjoyed it.
It was just announced that Dune will open in theaters -- including IMAX and 3D -- on November 20, 2020. Considering the early interest in the film, and the talent that has been attracted so far, I'm guessing other films will want to stay away from that release date.
Denis Villeneuve's growing Dune cast is said to include Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson as Jessica Atreides; Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto; Zendaya as Chani; Javier Bardem as Stilgar; Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck; Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban; Stellan Skarsgård as Vladimir Harkonnen; Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam; and Jason Momoa recently announced to be in talks to play Duncan Idaho.
There are so many stars in this cast, they could slip Kyle MacLachlan in for a cameo and it might take fans several viewings to even notice.
Denis Villeneuve has said his Dune will be very different from David Lynch's 1984 version. He also said his goal was to make two Dune films, "maybe more." According to Variety, production is expected to start this spring in Budapest and Jordan.
More Dune casting updates may be coming before filming begins. Keep up with everything we know on that front, and bookmark our 2019 movie release date calendar to stay up to date on everything opening in theaters this year.
