Following the massive success of “Dune: Part Two,” director Denis Villeneuve may have found his next project.
The filmmaker is in discussion to reunite with Legendary for an adaptation of Annie Jacobsen’s Pulitzer Prize finalist “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” Variety has confirmed. Legendary also confirmed that it is working with Villeneuve to develop a third “Dune” film.
Legendary optioned the feature film rights to Jacobsen’s nonfiction book; Villeneuve is currently in talks with the studio to produce, adapt and/or director. His producing partner Tanya Lapointe would also be a part of the project.
Released on March 26, Jacobsen’s 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 have needed to be made.”
Meanwhile, Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” is still raking in money at the box office, having already amassed $630 million worldwide. The sequel, led by Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and a host of other Hollywood A-listers, is currently the highest-grossing film of 2024. In the film, Chalamet’s Paul Atreides takes his place as the prophesied chosen one and fights to exact revenge against those that destroyed his family. Villeneuve’s first “Dune” movie, released in 2021, grossed $402 million globally.
Jacobsen’s other books include “Area 51,” “Operation Paperclip,” “The Pentagon’s Brain,”
“Phenomena,” “Surprise,” “Kill Vanish,” and “First Platoon.” As a writer and producer for television, her credits include “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.”
Both Villeneuve and Jacobsen are repped by CAA.
