Villeneuve says Bond will pull him away from Dune

Denis Villeneuve says directing the next James Bond film will help him move on from the Dune universe after completing Dune: Part Three, which he has said he returned to despite feeling tired of the material. In an interview with Empire, the director said he went back to Dune not out of nostalgia but to ensure he would approach the story rigorously and avoid complacency. He described the Bond project as the “very powerful rocket” he needed to pull him away from Arrakis once his work on the third film was done. Villeneuve is set to direct the next James Bond film. The reports do not establish that casting or production has begun, and no actor has been officially announced for the title role. The project is described as an Amazon MGM Studios reboot. One report says preproduction is expected after Dune: Part Three and filming is expected to begin in 2027; those are anticipated steps, not confirmed developments. Dune: Part Three is scheduled to reach theaters on December 18, 2026. Villeneuve’s return completes a trilogy that began with Dune in 2021 and continued with Dune: Part Two in 2024. The new film adapts Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah, according to the reports, and brings back...