How hard sci-fi went mainstream
EMPIRE INVESTIGATES WHY ULTRA-AMBITIOUS FANTASY IS NOW HOLLYWOOD’S HOTTEST TICKET
WORDS TOM ELLENMARTA KOCHANEK
EDITED BY BETH WEBB
IN THE SHADOWS of Arrakis lie many secrets. Among them, it seems: the secret to making an absolute boatload of cash.
At the time of writing, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two has taken half a billion dollars at the box office, and is thundering towards the $600-million mark like Shai-Hulud chasing down a thumper. Not bad for a nearly-three-hour-long sequel drenched in complex lore, containing vast swathes of subtitled alien dialect, and based on a doorstopping novel that was once considered ‘unadaptable’ (even after David Lynch had a go). With its telepathic foetuses and colour-leached suns, the film is arguably even more out-there than its 2021 predecessor —and yet it’s outperforming it, both critically and commercially.