Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is finally out, all two hours and 35 minutes of it. And yet, even before it was released, Dune star Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho) was calling for more — hoping that a director’s cut of the film would be released to the public a la Zack Snyder’s Justice League, another Warner Bros. film he starred in.
Back in April, Momoa revealed that he was in favor of seeing a super-long version of the film that spanned anywhere from four to six hours, something that could be watched like a TV series. “I want to see Denis’ whole vision,” he told The New York Times Magazine. “I don’t want it to be trimmed.”
But when it comes to director’s cuts, it looks like Dune won’t follow in the footsteps of Justice League. As Villeneuve, is shutting this down himself. As Villeneuve himself told NME:
"I love Jason, but such a thing doesn’t exist! The director’s cut is what people are watching in theaters right now. There will be no other cut. Yes, I could have made a much longer, more contemplative movie, but that was not the plan."
Dune won’t get the Justice League treatment
So while the Villeneuve Cut barely had time to even gain traction online, I think it’s good that the film will remain as is. Remember, the whole reason behind releasing Zack Snyder’s Justice League was because it was very clear that Zack Snyder’s vision for the movie was butchered in the original theatrical cut. And fans wanted to see the true vision that Snyder intended to bring on screen.
As for Dune, it sounds like the complete story that Villeneuve wanted to tell has been told. Yes, there’s a lot from the first part of the book that was cut. Take, for instance, the Baron revealing his plan with Dr. Yueh or Lady Jessica finding the secret room. But we really didn’t miss out on much by not having those moments in the film.
And pacing-wise, more scenes would probably only drag the film down, even if you end up watching it in segments. (That was my biggest complaint about the Snyder Cut.)
Plus, we’re looking at the creation of a potential franchise here. I’m assuming Dune Part II is definitely on the way. But given the movie’s popularity, they may adapt more books from the series as well. I’m not entirely sure if adding more scenes to an extended cut would muddle up the continuity. More than likely it wouldn’t. But with this kind of adaptation, you never know how much one small change can have a ripple effect on the future.
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