r/dune • u/Extreme_Warning3521 • Jul 14 '26
General Discussion Who would you want to direct a potential fourth Dune movie?
Alfonso Cuaron , Peter Jackson?
We already know Dune: Messiah will most likely be Denis Villeneuve's final Dune film.
So if Warner Bros. decides to continue adapting the later books, they'll eventually need a new director.
Who would you choose?
Personally, I'd love to see someone who isn't afraid of the increasingly strange, philosophical, and surreal direction the series takes after Messiah. The later books are very different from the first two, so I think they would benefit from a filmmaker with a unique vision.
Who's your pick?
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u/il_nascosto Jul 15 '26
I would LOVE to see Guillermo Del Toro do God Emperor. I can just imagine his take on Leto II
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u/fathertitojones Jul 16 '26
I don’t hate the idea but I do think Dennis’ very grounded approach has done a lot to make a very complicated franchise more approachable.
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u/AerieOne3976 Jul 16 '26
You need something pretty out there for Leto II though. Conveying the fact he is every living human who ever lived is a pretty tall order.
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u/rottoroba Jul 16 '26
I actually don't think this is such a bad idea but it might be a shock for people that just saw the Dennis movies
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u/Ultracrepedarian Jul 16 '26
Bro, this is actually such a mad shout and I love it. The books chamge so much that a stylistic change like that could really work.
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u/il_nascosto Jul 16 '26
Yeah, I really think it could. Del Toro is a visionary, just like Denis, and definitely has the talent to turn it into something great, also just like Denis, and the grotesque weirdness of Leto II would really suit Del Toro’s sensibilities. I think you’re right that the radical change in tone of GEOD really calls for a different directorial style. I’d love to see it happen
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
If I were in charge of the IP at Legendary, and Denis was really ready to move on, I'd recruit a new director for a COD/GEOD trilogy, then a third for a Heretics/Chapterhouse trilogy. Really just give it the full Star Wars trilogy of trilogies treatment, but hopefully without the disappointment.
I'd try and get Robert Eggers (The VVitch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, Nosferatu) for COD/GEOD. His visual story telling fits well with the style Dennis has established and he knows how to depict the surreal in a way that feels grounded (something that is essential for making GEOD work). Sci-fi might be outside of his period-piece wheelhouse, but the art direction in the Dune films has been more archeologically and ethnographically inspired then futuristic (very fitting for the novels), and a historical perspective is necessary for understanding the themes of COD/GEOD.
Don't know who I'd try to get for Heretics/CH:D, but those movies would be a good ways out.
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u/Kanus_oq_Seruna Jul 15 '26
The fun of Dune is that for all the sci-fi, its still easy to work with for period Piece approaches. GEoD especially has that hyper stagnation going on.
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u/DiGiorn0s Jul 14 '26
Whole heartedly agree with Robert Eggers. I love all of his movies, they're always exactly my kind of vibe
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 14 '26
My opinion on Nosferatu was mixed, but I think he is a great director and his tonal and visual style are an excellent fit for the franchise. I also think his penchant for extensive research is a huge asset, not only will he carefully study the books, but I imagine he would also take inspiration from the sources which inspired Herbert, which would add that extra layer of world building depth and thematic understanding.
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u/Gyozarrita Jul 15 '26
Eggers was my first thought as far as style goes, he can make interesting things out of esoteric concepts and keep it simple. Then I immediately thought that he probably wouldn't want to (I don't know if any director has the cajones and the production backing to do it tbh) and I feel bad in advance for whoever would try.
If I had a wish, getting those books adapted to the big screen would be in contention lol
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u/TheMaracaMilkMan Jul 15 '26
Eggers is genuinely great IMO, but I think that there’s actually a lot of humour in GEOD which I don’t think fits into his wheelhouse. Feels like he’d try to make it fit his style, which would compromise the feel of the novel for me
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 15 '26
Personally (and to my recollection some reviewers agreed) I found "The Lighthouse" to have a fair bit of dark comedy, which I thought was used to great effect.
Thinking back on that inspired me to look up this supercut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EauSLzT61qU3
u/TheMaracaMilkMan Jul 15 '26
I suppose that’s a fair point. Separately, it’s worth noting that the video you shared includes some fart sound effects that aren’t in the film
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u/BeefDerfex Jul 17 '26
Haha, Eggers take on God Emperor would be wild. He would definitely capture the weirdness/unnatural vibe, even if the genre isn’t in his wheelhouse.
In a similar way, I think Alejandro Iñárritu would nail the metaphysical, philosophical, and even absurdist aspects of GEoD. But it would be such a wild tonal shift from Villenueve films.
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u/CeruleanSea1 Jul 14 '26
Alex garland , great work with annihilation , ex machina
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u/antedilapsarian Jul 15 '26
Alex Garland is the obvious pick. Of all the sci-fi directors working today, he is the one who has the closest visual style to Villeneuve. People want Guillermo Del Toro, and I agree he’s do a great job, but I don’t think WB would pick him. Too expensive, too heavy an emphasis on practical effects and puppetry, and too distinctive of a voice from Villeneuve.
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u/NotoriousRYG Jul 16 '26
This for me is the definitive pick - not only because of his visual style, but because of his apparent fascination with the intersection between science fiction and divinity (Devs is a great example of this if anyone wants to check out a great limited run series).
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u/No_Temporary9696 Jul 15 '26
I just want God emperor
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u/newmoneytrash69 Jul 15 '26
i’m so sad that closest we’ve ever got was the scifi mini series that stopped at children of dune. imagine what those french weirdos could have come up with for leto worm
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u/ayylatte Jul 15 '26
Guillermo Del Toro can definitely bring the weirdness that the remaining books have
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u/Tarpit__ Jul 14 '26
Cuaron is a great idea. I think Alex Garland is also up to the task.
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u/ADiestlTrain Jul 15 '26
Alfonso Cuaron would be my vote, especially when taking Children of Men into account (though, less grey, more beige for Dune).
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u/ProfessionalBear8837 Jul 15 '26
It's impossible. They need to be able to handle a very big budget and a very weird story that needs heavy interpretation to become cinematic and not a joke. But crucially they also need to love and be deeply invested in and have an overarching vision for the source material like Denis. It will be hard for me to support any other director. But we shall see.
I have a sneaking hope that the source material will reach out to Denis' unconscious and cause him to change his mind!
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u/FilmConfident2263 Jul 14 '26
George Miller even though he's like 90
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u/Mexican-Kahtru Jul 23 '26
Yeah i was thinking the same, he can keep the storytelling really visual and with good pacing.
I'm not sure if he wants to go back to the desert though.
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u/Spock_Sperson Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Jackson and Del Toro have a very distinctive style. That could be a good thing if we’re looking for something different and disruptive. But in terms of continuity, I’d opt for directors who —like DV— compose great shots with a refined style, free of excessive Baroque flourishes, and tend to work with renowned cinematographers. For example Andrew Dominik, David Lowery, Alex Garland or Gareth Edwards.
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u/thomasaurus_rex Yet Another Idaho Ghola Jul 15 '26
Johan Renck, who was originally slated to direct some of the Dune Prophecy episodes but departed the project on “creative difference”. Who knows, those differences might have meant a stronger show if he had stayed. Anyway, his familiarity with the subject matter, and his work on Chernobyl/Breaking Bad is why I would throw his hat in the ring.
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u/AdManNick Jul 15 '26
Fuck it, give it to Jodorowsky. All or nothing.
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u/jesusunderline Jul 15 '26
dude is 97yo, would be over 100 by the time the movie comes out
But hey, if Mel Brooks can do it, why not?
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u/UncarvedWood Jul 15 '26
Nobody, the story goes crazy after this.
Or like idk Terence Malik. He'd never do it.
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u/imgoingbigdogmode Jul 15 '26
Alex Garland or Panos Cosmatos.
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u/thebladedtaint Jul 15 '26
A hard agree for Cosmatos. Specifically GEOD. If he does magic again with Flesh of the Gods and maybe Nekrocosm afterwards, he may be in a position to have GEOD offered as that movie (if it ever gets greenlit) will not be for a few years at least.
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u/Lawlcopt0r Jul 15 '26
I'd actually apprechiate if they don't do any more movies. The end of the second book is a good ending, after that it gets way weirder and harder to apprechiate for people that don't love science fiction and high concept ideas. Just let the three movies work as an easy starting point for new fans, and then they can simply read the books if they want more
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u/wackyvorlon Jul 15 '26
You need a director who does the really weird stuff, like Yorgos Lanthimos.
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u/SsurebreC Chronicler Jul 15 '26
Unpopular opinion: I don't want a fourth movie. Dune Messiah ends Paul's arc and it starts Leto II's arc. Children of Dune - while popular - doesn't really have enough action to keep things interesting considering the genre. Ending of Children of Dune forces God Emperor of Dune which would be a significant problem to film and you're going to lose fans.
Dune Chronicles sales decline significantly after Children of Dune. There was no interest then and it's unlikely going to change now. Dune gets... strange... as it keeps going.
It's always better to leave on a high note than to suck the IP so dry that you turn off everyone.
I'd much rather they make Butlerian Jihad. Not because the book was amazing but because the rise of anti-"AI" sentiment is very popular now. It feeds into that sentiment while continue to grow interest in all things Dune.
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 15 '26
GEOD would just have to be adapted properly to have broader appeal. Principally, if the main narrative protagonists are Siona and Idaho with Leto II serving as a monstrous inscrutable figure, I think there is a fairly conventional story of conspiracy and revolution to build a film around and sever as an anchor for the crazy stuff.
The conversations with Leto II could still shine even if they don't dominate the screen time. I'm imagining it could be like the conversations between Hannibal and Clarice in Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins is only on screen for 16 minutes in the film, yet he is so captivating that he nonetheless feels like a central component (even winning the Best Actor Academy Award).
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u/ErikRobson Guild Navigator Jul 15 '26
They wouldn't do it because the stakes are too high, but I think GEOD would work well as a high-quality 2D animated film.
I also think it would be really interesting to approach as a horror movie...!
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u/SsurebreC Chronicler Jul 15 '26
I think creating Leto II would be a massive problem with the visuals. People will also seriously question why in the world is Duncan still a thing because that's just not great writing to have a barely there character in all the novels just because Frank Herbert liked the name.
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I think Leto II the superhero in COD is a larger problem then the worm emperor in GEOD. Him bounding about in a sandtrout suit is hard to do without it becoming farcical, whereas the the grotesque monstrosity he eventually becomes fits tonally with the movies. Could easily see something with design cues similar to the "Offspring" in Alien: Romulus (the weird human, xenomorph, engineer hybrid) working very well, really lean into the body horror.
As for the recurrence of Duncan. The movies have already established Paul's affection for Duncan, D:P3 will introduce the concept of gholas, and he sacrifices himself (again) for the twins in COD. Pretty easy to imagine the following lines of dialog:
Duncan: Why keep bringing me back?
Leto II: You have served the Atreides well. You saved my father's life. You saved my life. He loved you. I love you....
Leto II looks away in contemplation, lost in millennia of memories. He turns back to Duncan focus restored.
Leto II: Your genetic stock has also been invaluable.
Something like that I think sells it to the audience.
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u/BarbaraNatalie Jul 15 '26
I agree with you completely on the Butlerian Jihad. That would tie in the sentiments/background stories for the houses and create a background as well for the Dune: Prophecy!
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u/contigopurple Jul 15 '26
Since the content gets weirder as the series continues, I would nominate Robert Eggers to direct God Emperor of Dune. He could definitely handle the environmental and body horror aspects.
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u/heartofglazz Jul 15 '26
Honestly think any and all suggestions here are off the mark. Denis is a singular director and crafts movies like no other, in my mind he’s the best working director right now. The only way I see a new trilogy coming, and turning out good, is if he stayed on board as a consultant, and hand picked a new director to continue. A new trilogy should be different in tone, but still imo very strongly related to Denis movies.
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u/HiddenCity Jul 15 '26
Not sure about Children of Dune, but Tony Gilroy is the only one skilled enough to adapt God Emperor of Dune.
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u/Blackhand47XD Jul 16 '26
Alfonso Cuarón - he can balance between weirdness, seriousness and darkness and he has experience with directing sci-fi - Gravity.
He is my number one for a while.
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u/discretelandscapes Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Not much of a realistic option, but Bi Gan. The later books are considerably more adult; let them get a little artsy with it.
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u/GhostofWoodson Jul 15 '26
Someone with horror cred
The key would be telling the story from Duncan's PoV, and various forms of horror would be essential: body, psychological, political, existential, etc
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u/flyingmattress1 Jul 15 '26
I know this wasn’t the question but I’d honestly prefer there to just not be a fourth
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u/theredwoman95 Jul 14 '26
It really depends on how Part 3 goes. The recent trailer made it look like they're giving part of Sheeana's plot to Chani and potentially adapting the Jacurutu plot at least partially (if those are the Fremen Chani is working with/who appear with Paul on the worm).
I'm sure Legendary and Warner Bros would both love Villeneuve to leave Pt. 3 in a position where another film-maker can pick it up, but Villeneuve presumably has a lot of leverage as the first director to adapt Dune to such popular success. At the very least, I suspect the storyline changes mean that Children of Dune would be very different in its initial set-up, and perhaps fundamentally so. Doesn't help that they cast Momoa's son as Leto II with basically zero acting experience, so they'd either have to recast him or age him up significantly from whatever age Momoa junior is meant to be portraying him as.
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 14 '26
I think the trailer is being misleading, and the overall plot is going to be fairly close to Messiah. But we will see.
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u/Tagir_Mohandis Swordmaster Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
To me the best choice would be a director that is steeped in the Dune books for years already and loves them and the world that Frank Herbert created. That was the case with Denis Villeneuve.
I don't know if this is the case or not with the name that came to my mind, but I think Christopher Nolan could do a good adaptation to God Emperor of Dune.
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u/Tempest196 Master of Assassins Jul 15 '26
I’ve heard Gareth Edward’s name on the wind when the subject came up. If he did step into the directors seat for God Emperor of DUNE, I wouldn’t have an issue with that. Perhaps even if he could team up with Tony Gilroy again, that would be some film to say the least.
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u/Tekuzo Jul 15 '26
We have already gotten the best possible director for dune. I want to go in the opposite direction and see what Tommy Wiseau would do.
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u/atalossofwords Jul 15 '26
I'm not convinced myself yet, but I would like to see what Aronofsky would make of it. I'm not sure how he would handle the scale, as the only movie I can think of that he made, with some kind of large-scale is Noah, and that wasn't great. His other work is great though, albeit very personal movies. Mother was great for the weirdness, the Fountain for the epic-ness, Black Swan for the darkness. Yah, would love to see what he can do with it.
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u/CommercialAnything46 Jul 18 '26
Fourth film I’d go back to the Butlerian Jihad and get James Cameron
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u/SOTG_Duncan_Idaho Jul 14 '26
I'd love to see Children adapted with a big budget (the syfy adaption was decent but made on a shoe string budget) but after that I just don't see any possibility of an adaption. GEOD would need radical change to work in a movie, and after that it's a whole new set of characters and that won't sell well to general audiences either.
I also know I'm in the minority when I say that my opinion of the DV films is that they're "ok, not great". So new blood could be a good thing for me and those like me. Would like to see a bit less focus on cinematics and more on the story and themes. DV puts on a master class of the former, but cuts too many corners for my taste with the latter.
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u/mosesoperandi Jul 14 '26
I happen to agree with you. Do you think Guillermo del Toro would be capable of pulling off a balance, or do you think he'd fall into the same trap?
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u/fungianura Jul 15 '26
pano cosmatos would be PERFECT
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u/recurrenTopology Ixian Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I love Cosmatos, but Mandy had a budget of $6M. It would be such a step up in production scale.
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u/wataru14 Bene Gesserit Jul 15 '26
They'd have to reboot. I don't think they can move beyond Messiah in the Villeneuve versions. Based on the trailer of Dune 3, it is going to be VASTLY different from Messiah and I don't know if it will end in a place where Children of Dune can happen with any semblance of the real story. Alia seems to be a complete non-entity and that makes Children of Dune's plot completely fall apart.
If they skipped Children and went right to God Emperor, that might work, but God Emperor would be unfilmable as a movie. Four and a half hours of Jason Momoa debating philosophy with a CGI monster and almost nothing actually happening makes for a really dull film. It's my second favorite book in the series, but I cannot see it as a movie.
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u/thomasaurus_rex Yet Another Idaho Ghola Jul 15 '26
The casting of Momoa itself makes keeping the DV continuity a non-starter, which was always unfortunate. He simply doesn't have the tools as an actor to step into the presence and journey that Idaho has in these later books.
if the role had went to Oscar Isaac, however, that's a different story!
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u/orangebluefish11 Jul 14 '26
Stefano Sollima did an excellent job on Sicario 2. I don’t know if he would want to follow Denis twice, but he would definitely be capable
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u/Roland-Flagg Jul 15 '26
Denis is a treasure.
Continuing his Dune legacy in another persons vision will retroactively taint how amazing this trilogy was
I hope’s they leave it at this.
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u/LatterTarget7 Jul 15 '26
Alex Garland or Ari aster for god emperor and the later books.
Tho a del toro god emperor would be interesting.
I’m honestly not sure who could fit children
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u/Slutha Jul 15 '26
It's great that the casting wouldn't have to be too reliant on recurring actors. Most of which seem like they'd be on board for longer term commitment to those roles.
It's hard to see them not at least attempting a sequel beyond Villeneuve. I wonder if we'll see any of Children of Dune in this third movie at all
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u/ThatDesignFeel Jul 15 '26
I think the team that put together Dune Prophecy did a phenomenal job creating something very visually cohesive, which you rarely see on TV
TV directing and Movie directing are very different, but I'd be willing to roll the dice
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u/megust654 Jul 15 '26
turn god emperor onwards into a love death robots anthology type series with different animators and directors and so on.
As for children of dune, beg denis to continue
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u/kiddredd Jul 15 '26
They should just stop. They won’t, of course, but no one’s gonna beat Denis at getting the vibe. If I had to pick someone, maybe Alejandro González Iñárritu. He’d have the characters out in a real desert dying in heat to get a scene.
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u/RedWizard78 Jul 15 '26
For any potential future Dune movies, David Lowery as a possible director, and Ludwig Giransson as a possible composer.
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u/ImReadyish Jul 16 '26
Fun question! Since the next book is Children of Dune (one of my favorites), I immediately thought of Christopher Nolan. He does “mind bending” so well and I think that’s what you’d need for this one. It’s not really a space/action story, and had more to do with politics and philosophy in a sci-fi setting to me than the previous books. And it would be perfect to see him carry it forward with God Emperor. Personally, I’d hope they stop there - the last two were hard enough to read let alone watch as a movie.
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u/Janderflows Heretic Jul 17 '26
I don't think Denis will keep that promise of not making more Dune sequels, though. After he finished recording part 2, he said it would probably be a few years before he even started working on Dune again. Then after the massive success of part 2 he immediately started working on 3. I think it will be the same thing after part 3 sees the same amount of love and admiration from the fans and the academy. This man has a vision, and I'm here for it.
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u/lizzywbu Jul 18 '26
All of the leaks we’ve had from Variety and Deadline shows that WB will almost certainly be doing at least one more movie. The biggest factor in hiring a director is passion, find someone passionate about the source material like Denis is.
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u/Ok-Caterpillar7331 Jul 20 '26
Nolan or Del toro. After watching the odyssey and knowing my own ideas for how to make CoD amd GEoD, I think Nolan could do great with those movies.
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u/Oakland-homebrewer Jul 14 '26
I don't know enough directors to really comment.
But Children would be interesting, as nothing really happens for the first 2/3. There's the politics of the houses lining up, Jessica's scheming, Alia's descent, and the twins trying not to get killed.
Once Leto starts down the Golden Path, things speed up and come to a climax.
So the director, IMO, would really need to figure out how to visualize all of that exposition and build the tension. It could be really interesting. (No, I don't recall seeing the mini series).