Dune director Denis Villeneuve had some critical things to say about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its movies.
The filmmaker is making the rounds promoting his space epic, which adapts roughly the first half of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel of the same name. Dune premiered to positive reviews at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 3 and screened at Toronto's own film festival not long after. This also gave Villeneuve the chance to weigh in on various subjects during an interview with the French outlet Premiere, including his feelings about the MCU.
“The problem today... Well, if we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mold. Some filmmakers can add a little color to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted," said Villeneuve.
Villeneuve was perhaps more blunt about his feelings towards Marvel Studios' films while talking to the Spanish outlet El Mundo. "There are too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a cut and paste of others," as he put it.
During a separate interview with La SER, the filmmaker said Dune represents his attempt to make a movie with the same broad appeal as the MCU, as opposed to his darker and more psychological thrillers like Prisoners and Sicario. "I think I did it that way because, when I discovered the novel, I was 13 years old, and I thought that all the children in the world would like to see something like this in the cinema. But the adaptation of the whole film is made according to my own taste as an adult right now. I wanted to do a dark 'space opera', something that hadn't been seen before. I tried to make a pop movie with great joy, that's why it's fun for me," he explained.
Assuming Dune is a success, Villeneuve hopes to begin shooting Dune: Part 2 -- which would adapt the second half of Herbert's book -- in 2022. "I will say, listen, the tough task here was to introduce you guys to the world, the audience to this world, to the codes, to the culture, the different families, the different planets [in the first movie]," he added. "Once this is done, it becomes an insane playground. It will allow me to go berserk."
Dune launches day and date in theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 22.
Source: Premiere, El Mundo, La SER, via The Playlist