Denis Villeneuve May Have Found His Post-‘Dune: Messiah’ Movie (Assuming ‘Dune: Messiah’ Gets Made)

Denis Villeneuve has reportedly lined up his first post-Dune project. The visionary director and Legendary Entertainment have locked down the rights to the best-selling book Nuclear War: A Scenario. Much like Christoper Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the film would tackle the devastating reality of nuclear weapons as it adapts the non-fiction tome from Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen.

However, in an interesting note, Deadline reports that Villeneuve would helm Nuclear War after delivering Dune: Messiah, the final installment in a proposed Dune trilogy. After completing Dune: Part Two, which was delayed for several months due to the writers’ and actors’ strike, Villeneuve has stated in interviews that he’s hesitant to return to the desert too quickly.

He recently told Collider that he might “make a little detour, maybe” before returning to Dune. Based on Deadline‘s reporting, it appears that Villeneuve and Legendary have opted to wrap up the trilogy first.

Here’s a brief synopsis of Nuclear War, which just hit the New York Times bestseller list:

The book explores a ticking-clock scenario about what would happen in the event of a nuclear war, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who built the weapons and have been privy to the response plans and have been responsible for those decisions should they need to be made.

As for Villenueve’s adaptation, Deadline reports “the expectation also is that this would be a chilling cautionary tale about where the world might be headed in an age of political volatility at a time when too many countries have nuclear capabilities.”

(Via Deadline)