Dune director Denis Villeneuve admits he's struggling to complete the movie ahead of its December release date. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic's impact on Hollywood extends well beyond the plethora of release dates that needed to be moved around. Projects that were in the midst of production had to go on hiatus, and some have only recently resumed. The extensive delays obviously greatly affected shooting schedules for a number of movies and TV shows, further throwing the release calendar into a state of flux.
Villeneuve's Dune was lucky enough to wrap principal photography last year, but that didn't prevent it from being hit by the pandemic. As a big-scale sci-fie epic, Dune requires extensive post-production work, including planned reshoots that are scheduled for this month. Because of the health crisis, the crew had to adapt to working remotely, which isn't making things easy for Villeneuve.
In an interview with CCTV (hat tip IndieWire), Villeneuve explained how the pandemic's made things harder on Dune, with everyone working from different locations:
“I was planning to go back and shoot some elements later because I wanted to readjust the movie. I needed time. At the time I didn’t know that it would be a pandemic…as we were about to go back to do those elements. The impact was that it crushed my schedule right now. It will be a sprint to finish the movie on time right now, because we were allowed to go back to shoot those elements in a few weeks…it meant also that I have to finish some elements of the movie, like VFX and the editing, being in Montreal as my crew stayed in Los Angeles.”
It will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. decides to delay Dune's premiere. Depending on how much progress Villeneuve makes on his self-described "sprint" over the next couple of months, it might be easier to slide an already completed film (like Wonder Woman 1984) into Dune's December slot and give Villeneuve more time to finish his film. Dune is envisioned as the start of a new series, as a sequel is already being written. It's imperative for it to be of high quality, so rushing Villeneuve through unprecedented circumstances to meet a set release date may not be the smartest choice. From the sound of things, some extra breathing room might be beneficial in helping Villeneuve realize his vision for Dune. However, WB appears to be committed to December, with a Dune trailer slated to debut this month.
There's also no guarantee Dune would be able to come out in December even if it's finished on time. Some believe movie theaters will stay closed until mid-2021 due to safety concerns, and the box office performance of the first movies to come out in the midst of the pandemic will probably dictate the remainder of the 2020 schedule. If Tenet were to underperform (even by the "new normal" standards), WB might have second thoughts about moving forward with Wonder Woman 1984 and Dune this year. Dune is a major investment on the studio's part, and Villeneuve isn't synonymous with box office success. His Blade Runner 2049 was a box office flop despite receiving critical acclaim. It may be better to just wait on Dune, giving Villeneuve some leeway while also biding time until it's safer to go back to movie theaters.
Source: CCTV (via IndieWire)
