After proving he could do huge-scope, huge-ideas sci-fi with the likes of Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve is heading into even more epic science fiction territory with Dune – adapting Frank Herbert’s legendary tome into a star-studded blockbuster. It’s a famously expansive novel containing entire worlds, cultures, species and rituals – and at the heart of it all is protagonist Paul Atreides, played in Villeneuve’s film by Timothée Chalamet. As we enter the Dune universe (‘Duniverse?’) at the start of the story, the young Atreides has a considerable journey ahead of him – with Villeneuve teasing a dramatic character arc that he compares to one of the all-time cinematic greats.
“Paul has been raised in a very strict environment with a lot of training, because he's the son of a Duke and one day... he's training to be the Duke,” Villeneuve tells Empire. “But as much as he's been prepared and trained for that role, is it really what he dreams to be? That's the contradiction of that character. It's like Michael Corleone in The Godfather – it's someone that has a very tragic fate and he will become something that he was not wishing to become.”
If that hints at dark times ahead, Villeneuve also highlights the virtues of Atreides, who “will become a man” over the course of the story. “His survival depends on being able to make the right decisions and adapt to different dangerous situations. It's a very beautiful story about someone that becomes empowered,” the director explains. “Like any young adult he is looking for his identity and trying to understand his place in the world, and he will have to do things that none of his ancestors were able to do in order to survive. He has a beautiful quality of being curious about other people, of having empathy, something that will attract him towards other cultures, and that's what will save his life.”
See more of Empire’s exclusive new look at Dune in the Celebration Of Cinema issue of Empire, on sale now. Find it on newsstands, order online here, or purchase a digital copy via the Empire Magazine app on iOS and Android.