Denis Villeneuve’sDune: Part Tworecently opened in theaters worldwide, and it has quickly become the first true hit of 2024. Domestically, the film opened with $82 million, more than double that of the first entry in the series and performing slightly aboveOppenheimerfrom last summer. While it’s still to be seen ifDunewill showcase the same incrediblelegs at the box officethat Christopher Nolan’s latest film did, it’s undeniable that the film has connected with audiences, with incredible word-of-mouth and repeat viewings driving it to great success.
The success ofDune: Part Twoat the box office is good news for many reasons. It shows that audiences are still willing to go out to the theater to see this kind of blockbuster film, even without a pop culture phenomenon like last year’s “Barbenheimer.” This will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the filmmaking industry as a whole, though there is one franchise in particular that could specifically benefit most from it. That franchise isStar Wars, which has found itself in increasingly unpredictable waters over the last few years. Here’s why the success ofDune: Part Twocould be beneficial for the future ofStar Wars.
Audience Taste Is Shifting
Dune: Part Two
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It’s no secret that the most dominant genre in Hollywood over the last 15 years has been comic-book movies. For a while, it seemed that thehighest-grossing filmsof every year were the latest entries from the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, ranging fromThe AvengerstoAquamanandIron Man 3toBatman v. Superman. However, this trend in blockbuster filmmaking seems to be significantly slowing down. Comic-book movies are no longer the sure bets they used to be. In 2023 alone, both Marvel and DC experienced massive box office failures, as films likeAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,Shazam! Fury of the Gods,The Flash, andThe Marvelsall failed to make an impact at the box office.
While cinemas are still consistently dominated by blockbuster movies, the kinds of blockbusters that can connect seem to be slowly shifting. Two of the biggest movies of the year in 2023 wereOppenheimerandBarbie, two major films that not only entertained but also genuinely challenged their viewers, had something to say, and embraced cinema as an art form rather than a product.
Only two comic-book movies managed to crack the list of the 10highest-grossing movies of 2023, and those wereGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, two films that took drastically different and fresh approaches to the genre and were rewarded for those efforts.
Dune: Part Twois on track to join this club of modern blockbusters that are more than just products intended solely as box office bets. Villeneuve crafted one of the greatest sci-fi films in recent memory while also adapting Frank Herbert’s legendary novel, a famously in-depth critique of the typical “hero’s journey” andchosen one story arc. It’s a film and story designed to challenge its audience and ask them to think deeper about the material, which is a nice change of pace after a decade of blockbusters conceived of as theme park rides.
Dune: How Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho Can Return in Part 3
Despite Duncan Idaho’s death in the first Dune film and his absence in Part Two, expect Jason Momoa to return to Arrakis in Part Three, Dune Messiah.
What Dune’s Success Means for Star Wars
As for howStar Warsfits into all of this, the modern era ofStar Warsfilms and shows has been a pretty substantial success for the most part. With that said, the franchise is also suffering from the same decline in broad interest that has been haunting both Marvel and DC. Movies likeSolo: A Star Wars Storyand series likeObi-Wan KenobiandAhsoka, while successful, are far from the universal hits that they were intended to be. Lucasfilm is very aware of this issue, which is why the studio has slowed down its output and taken so long to develop another film after the release ofEpisode IX – The Rise of Skywalkerin 2019.
Now thatDunehas become the success that it is, audiences have communicated that they are hungry for this kind of intellectual storytelling. WhileStar Warsmay be seen more broadly as a lighter and more pulpy sci-fi franchise thanDuneis, it has still proven time and time again that it is capable of tackling darker and more thought-provoking stories. Most recently, this was proven to be true with the seriesAndor, which takes a refreshing street-level approach to the Rebellion and the fight against the Empire. The same is true of the filmRogue One, whichAndoris a spin-off from. Coincidentally, both theDunefilms andRogue Onewere shot by the same cinematographer, Grieg Fraser.
While we’re not saying theStar Warsfranchise should completely stop what it’s doing and refocus on emulatingDune, it could benefit from focusing on this kind of mature storytelling that has already proven successful withRogue OneandAndor. By being asci-fi fantasy franchisethat has taken direct inspiration fromDuneon more than one occasion,Star Warsis uniquely positioned to scratch a very similar itch at the box office. However, it will only do so if Disney and Lucasfilm get the right creative teams and approach their stories with incredible care and attention to detail instead of attempting to rush something out to meet a deadline before a shareholder’s meeting.
Dune and Star Wars Have a Long History Together
This is not the first time that the histories ofDuneandStar Warshave been intertwined. Frank Herbert’sDunesolidly predatesStar Wars, as the first book was published in 1965, the second (Dune Messiah) in 1969, and the third (Children of Dune) in 1976. WhenStar Warshit theaters in 1977, it was immediately clear that George Lucas had taken a lot of inspiration from Herbert’s novels.
Beyond the surface-level aspects of being a sci-fi fantasy war story primarily centered around a desert planet—Arrakis inDuneand Tatooine inStar Wars—many of the twists and turns inStar Warswere also directly inspired byDune, ranging from Luke Skywalker’s villainous lineage to (much later on) the prophecy surrounding Anakin Skywalker and his eventual corruption because of it.
Now, the stories ofDuneandStar Warsare far from theone-to-one comparisonthat some people make them out to be, but their influences upon one another are undeniable. After the incredible success ofStar Warsin the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, interest in aDunefilm adaptation resurfaced, resulting in the version directed by David Lynch in 1984. Beyond that, the impact and influence thatStar Warshas had on the sci-fi genre as a whole over the last 50 years is immeasurable. Watching Villeneuve’s adaptations ofDune, it’s clear that Lucas’ work on Star Wars has inspired the director. Villeneuve’s approach toDuneis very much an active response to that and the broader storytelling of modern blockbusters.
Additionally, the development of these newDunefilms is indebted to the success of modernStar Wars–as well as bothGame of Thronesand Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsfilms, though that’s a separate discussion. It wasn’t until late 2016, a year after the incredible success ofStar Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, that Legendary acquired the rights to produceDuneand began speaking with Villeneuve about the job.
WithoutStar Wars' renewed successin the mid-2010s, there may not have been enough interest to push Villeneuve’sDuneinto production to begin with.DuneandStar Warshave frequently thrived off a semi-symbiotic relationship. SinceDuneis currently at an all-time high andStar Warsis struggling to maintain interest, it may be in the franchise’s best interest for Lucasfilm to revisit that connection.Dune: Part Twois currently playing in theaters. TheStar Warsfranchise is streaming on Disney+.
