Sometimes the size of a story has nothing to do with the number of words used to tell it.
Think of Peter Jackson’s film experience with the work of JRR Tolkien. His passion to bring Under the spell of the Ring to the screen caused him to be turned down and turned down by almost every major movie studio in the late 1990s. Most people didn’t even want to meet him, and the few studios that did wouldn’t talk about making more than one movie, except for Polygram Entertainment and New Line Cinemas. Polygram was in the process of changing hands and could do nothing at the time, leaving New Line as Peter Jackson’s last and only hope.
When Peter Jackson (who was vehemently opposed to telling the story in one movie) finally met Bob Shaye, the head of New Line, Shaye famously asked him why he pitched Under the spell of the Ring like two movies. Jackson thought there would be another request to do it all in one movie, but Shaye surprised him by asking why Jackson suggested two movies when there were three books. Shouldn’t there be three movies? Therefore, Under the spell of the Ring movies became a reality with the chance to be done right.
Imagine what Under the spell of the Ring story would have been like a single movie. Or even two. In fact, the story in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films is best told through the expanded editions, each of which is about four hours long. If that 12 cumulative hours of story actually had crushed into a single three-hour movie, it’s hard to imagine it becoming anything other than another major disappointment for Lord of the Rings fans.
Then consider what happened to the next work by Tolkien that brought Peter Jackson to the screen. Taking advantage of his success with Lord of the Ringshe took in a single book The Hobbit and stretched that into three huge movies. The Hobbit film trilogy was appreciated by some, but was generally regarded as less than what Jackson had accomplished Lord of the Rings, and the elaboration of the story may have had something to do with that consensus. In this case, more movies may have hurt the story instead of helping it.
Dune is to science fiction what Lord of the Rings is to fantasy
Dune is as respected and instrumental to the science fiction genre as Under the spell of the Ring belongs to the high fantasy genre. A work of towering imagination by Frank Herbert that was published in 1965 (the same year Ballantine Books published a revised edition of Under the spell of the Ring trilogy in paperback, bringing the story of the One Ring to the masses), Dune is equal parts riveting drama, flawless sci-fi, philosophical speculation and political thriller. Other groundbreaking science fiction works like Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series and that of Larry Niven Ringworld series felt dry and stiff compared to the warmth and richness of Dune.
Such a strong story seems like it should have been brought to the big screen soon after its release. But the Dune novel makes full use of literary techniques that make a straightforward screenplay almost impossible, especially significant amounts of cursive inner monologue that describes much of the backstory and many of the characters’ thoughts and emotions. Matching the novel’s fluid transitions of expositional and emotional thought and dialogue seemed like an impossible task on film, especially for just one film.
The 1984 version of Dune
Nevertheless, in 1984 Universal Pictures made an effort and chose acclaimed director David Lynch to bring the film Dune story to life. Many of those who Dune novel were intrigued by the story when they saw it in theaters in 1984, but fans who loved and appreciated the genius of the novel were disappointed with many aspects of the film.
For starters, even though Dune was a single novel, the two hours and seventeen minutes running time of the theatrical version was not nearly enough to do justice to the intricate story. Important scenes had to be written out, such as the Atreides banquet on Arrakis scene that Frank Herbert felt was vital. But he understood the time constraints of film and supported Lynch’s decisions. This was just a case where a single novel told a much bigger story than a single movie could possibly contain, so maybe Lynch should have gone the Jackson route of agreeing only to multiple movies instead of one.
Another disappointment was the casting. The Paul Atreides of the novel was not only a young teen, he was also a late bloomer. Throwing six-foot-tall, 25-year-old Kyle MacLachlan as Paul appeared to be a stumbling block coming out of the gate. And while the cast had many other talented stars, including Patrick Stewart, Linda Hunt, Brad Dourif, and Sting, there never seemed to be any chemistry between the actors or coherence with the script as they went through their lines.
One of the novel’s most difficult concepts to visualize was “the voice,” a power of persuasion developed by a political cult and a crucial tool used by two of the story’s heroic characters. The idea was so daunting and so indispensable that Lynch chose to rewrite this ability into a sonic handgun that could be crafted and handed out to any good old soldier.
All these and many more restrictions and changes dashed the hopes of devotees Dune fans who wanted to see their beloved story properly on screen. Even director David Lynch is quoted about his 1984 attempt Dune, “It was a failure and I didn’t make the final cut. I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the movie I wanted to make. I really like certain parts of it, but it was a total fail for me.
The 2021 version of Dune: Part 1
Dune fans disappointed with 1984’s offerings rejoiced when they heard the news that director Denis Villeneuve was turning his lifelong passion for Dune in a serious movie project, just like Peter Jackson did with his lifelong passion for Under the spell of the Ring. And like Jackson (and unlike Lynch), Villeneuve vehemently opposed telling the epic story in just one film. This seemed like a dream come true for both science fiction fans and movie fans in general.
But amazingly, when Warner Bros. agreed to produce Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune, the studio only approved one film, despite the director’s insistence on the need for more. Considering what Peter Jackson and New Line did with it Under the spell of the Ringmust this ‘prove it’ model have been insulting and discouraging to Villeneuve (who had just scored a hit with Swordsman: 2049).
It can only be assumed that the leadership at Warner Bros. struggled to know how to deal with the effects of a global pandemic on theater attendance, as well as the growing trend of shifting audiences from theaters to streaming services. But it still seems pathetic that a movie studio was bereft of the courage and vision that Bob Shaye and New Line showed with Under the spell of the Ring. Fortunately, Denis Villeneuve had his own faith in the story and belief in his own talent, as well as the artistic vision to see what Dune could be, and continued Dune: part 1.
Naturally, Dune: part 1 was amazing, receiving 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning six for Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Cinematography. Dune: Part 2 was approved a few days later Dune: part 1 opened, and is ready to tell the story of the Dune novel in November 2023.
How a dune: part 3 can be made
Ever since Dune: Part 1 has “proved” itself in a grand way, and Dune: Part 2 is in production, Warner Bros. another chance to show that it can be a bold and courageous film studio.
Lovers of the Dune novels know that the story of Paul Atreides does not end with the end of the Dune novel. Frank Herbert’s sequel, Dune Messiah, published in 1969, follows Paul and Chani in the rugged terrain that comes after the climb to the top. Their sacrifice and determination to beat the odds has taken them from a struggling renegade House to the reign of an empire, and their improbable triumph has made them the greatest targets in the universe. And all the power of the throne cannot stop Paul from watching his nightmare of crusades wash the worlds of the Empire with blood in his name.
Dune Messiah is a much shorter novel than Dune, perhaps the perfect length to immediately turn into a screenplay Dune: Part 3. It comes complete with new villains and incredible plot twists. And one of the benefits of a third film is that most of the production issues have already been resolved in the first two films. From just about any angle, a Dune trilogy of movies makes perfect sense.
How a Dune trilogy would change the tone of the story
But the really compelling reason to get one Dune: Part 3 from Dune Messiah is what it does to the story. One of the wonderful things about Dune is that it is a story that ends in an extremely satisfying and positive way. It’s a story of righting wrongs, of overcoming injustice, of the underdog triumphing. Check Dune: Part 2, audience laughs and leaves the room. They are going to be inspired. They will feel like conquering their problems and conquering their worlds.
Dune Messiah changes all that. As the story progresses, the audience learns that holding power is different from acquiring power. There are many drawbacks and problems that often come with extreme success. Like a Dune: Part 3 is made of Dune Messiah, the audience will not leave with the same smile and inspiration they came from Dune: Part 2. The conclusion will be much more gloomy and thoughtful. It will be more like the profound impact of Hamlet or West Side Story than the feel-good endings of most epic hero stories. And that will be a higher level of art.
After the 1984 film version of Dune, it was a lot to ask for a world-class director with a deep love for the franchise to come along and do it Dune what Peter Jackson did for Under the spell of the Ring. It was just too much to hope for. And then, miraculously, one of the film industry’s rising stars, Denis Villeneuve, reveals that he has the passion to Dune story as it should be told. And as it turns out, he’s in fact the perfect person to do it, as concerned as the most devoted fan of giving Dune the time it needs, enduring even a short-sighted studio to make it happen.
Now fans can only hope that the miracle will not end with Dune: Part 2, because the story can be even bigger and better with it Dune: Part 3.