Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Two‘ is currently in theaters and receiving tremendously good response at the box office. But no masterpiece is made without the maker investing in it with blood and sweat. The director recently opened up about how difficult it was for him to do justice to the book adaptation of the film and get the nuances of its writing on screen.
He also revealed that along with challenges of adapting Frank Herbert’s expansive novel into a feature-length film, he had to eliminate many characters and parts of stories that have been elaborated in the book. But he is not the only one who suffered his decision’s consequences.
“I Don’t Think I’m At Liberty To Say…”: Tim Blake Nelson Says He Is Sad About His Role Being Removed From ‘Dune: Part Two’
Actor Tim Blake Nelson was credited as appearing in the sequel prior to release, but his scene was cut in the final version of the film. “I don’t think I’m at liberty to say what the scene was,” the star told Movieweb in an interview published Friday.
The actor said the director “had to cut it.” “Because he thought the movie was too long. And I am heartbroken over that, but there’s no hard feelings. I loved it, and I can’t wait to do something else with him and we certainly plan to do that,” he added.
Villeneuve is known for his rigorous editing style, and has already spoken about the difficulty of making choices in the editing room. He has even compared it to being a samurai making painful decisions. The identity of Tim Blake Nelson’s character and the details of the cut scene remain undisclosed.
The director said that he had to cut scenes, storylines, and characters to streamline the narrative, even with the decision to split the story into two parts. “I’m a strong believer that when it’s not in the movie, it’s dead,” Villeneuve had said in an earlier interview with the Collider. “I’m not thinking about my ego, I’m thinking about the movie… I kill darlings, and it’s painful for me.”
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Denis Villeneuve Opens Up About Making “Painful Choices” During The Making Of ‘Dune’ Movies
Villeneuve has also opened up about making “painful choices” the process of creating the two-part saga. “One of the most painful choices for me on this one was [cutting] Thufir Hawat,” Villeneuve said of the character portrayed in the first film by Stephen McKinley Henderson.Thufir, a Mentat, plays an important role in Herbert’s novels but was cut from Part Two as Villeneuve focused on adapting the Bene Gesserit storyline.
“It’s the nature of the adaptation,” Villeneuve said of cutting Thufir from the sequel. “He’s a character I absolutely love, but I decided right at the beginning that I was making a Bene Gesserit adaptation. That meant that Mentats are not as present as they should be.”
Villeneuve said he had had to make tough decisions to stay true to his vision and the nature of the adaptation. Despite the challenges, he expressed love for the characters and the desire to honor Herbert’s monumental work.
‘Dune: Part Two‘ is currently in theaters, and while a Part Three hasn’t been officially confirmed, Villeneuve has expressed his dream of making “at least three” Dune movies. The adaptation has expanded beyond the films, with an HBO Max spin-off series, ‘Dune: The Sisterhood‘ that focuses on the Bene Gesserit.
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