While Dune director Denis Villeneuve has (rather infamously) stated his aversion to comic book movies, the celebrated filmmaker has now revealed that there is one iconic character that he would consider bringing to the silver screen: Batman. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Villeneuve stated that the Dark Knight is one of the few comic book characters that he feels he could relate to enough to tell their story.
You may have heard Denis Villeneuve isn’t a big superhero guy but he admitted to me there’s one he relates to.
Shall we ponder Denis Villeneuve’s BATMAN?
Full episode here: https://t.co/w6TZbm8sqa
Full video here: https://t.co/e84Wokl1SQpic.twitter.com/UETFSc0oDb
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) October 6, 2021
“Batman would be probably the only character that I could relate to. From what I read, like ‘Arkham Asylum,’ a book like that, I got in contact with when I was an adult. It’s for me, the character that I could connect to.”
Though Batman has been brought to screen more than any other superhero ever, it’s impossible not to be intrigued by another adventure for the Caped Crusader with Denis Villeneuve at the helm. Imagine the scope of Blade Runner 2049 with the grit of Prisoners and Sicario. Perfect.
At one stage, Villeneuve was rumored to be under consideration for Warner Bros.’ The Batman, a job that ultimately went to War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves. While Villeneuve has denied that the studio ever approached him, he does admit that he may have just forgotten as he was deeply invested in Dune at the time. In any case, from what we’ve seen of The Batman so far, it doesn’t take a huge leap to imagine what Villeneuve might have done with the movie.
The revelation that Villeneuve would add his talents to the comic book movie genre is sure to come as a surprise considering the director’s recent comments. It was not long ago that Villeneuve took aim at the Marvel Cinematic Universe saying, “Perhaps the problem is there are too many Marvel films that are nothing more than a cut and paste of others. Maybe these types of movies have turned us a little bit into zombies.” Evidently, he does not feel the same way about DC’s Dark Knight.
For now, Villeneuve’s next venture is the highly anticipated adaptation of the seminal sci-fi novel, Dune. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Starring a stellar ensemble cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, Dune is due to be theatrically released internationally on September 15, 2021, with a later release in the United States scheduled for October 22, where it will have a simultaneous release on HBO Max.
As for The Batman, audiences can finally see Robert Pattinson suit up when the comic book outing hits theaters on March 4, 2022. This comes to us courtesy of Josh Horowitz and the HAPPY SAD CONFUSED podcast.
https://movieweb.com/dune-denis-villeneuve-batman-movie/