‘Dune: Part Two’ actor “heartbroken” to be cut from final movie
Denis Villeneuve, the director of Dune: Part Two, has discussed regretfully cutting actors from the movie for the sake of the film’s running time.
Discussing the natural process when cutting things out of movie projects, the director explained that there is “always some kind of violence toward the original material,” adding, “you have to change things, you have to bend, you have to make painful choices.”
He told Entertainment Weekly that “one of the most painful choices” he had to make was cutting the character Thufir Hawat, who was to be played by Stephen McKinley Henderson. He also cut the part set to be played by Tim Blake Nelson.
For Nelson, this wasn’t the easiest news to receive. He told MovieWeb: “I had a great time over there shooting it. And then he had to cut it because he thought the movie was too long.”
Adding, “I am heartbroken over that, but there’s no hard feelings. I loved it, and I can’t wait to do something else with him, and we certainly plan to do that.”
Part Two wraps up the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 896-page novel from 1965, tracing the journey of Paul Atreides as he joins forces with Chani and the Fremen. Together, they embark on a quest to master the desert’s ways, confront the adversaries responsible for his family’s downfall, and embrace his prophesied destiny as the chosen one.
Despite the removal of two characters from the final cut, Dune: Part Two still runs for a little under three hours, a decision Villeneuve recently defended. “I trust the audience,” the director stated. “There is a trend. The youth love to watch long movies because if they pay, they want to see something substantial. They are craving meaningful content,” he added.
In a four-and-a-half-star review of Dune: Part Two, Far Out wrote: “Dune simply has to be seen on the big screen to be truly experienced; any lesser viewing negates its Lawrence of Arabia-indebted cinematography, captivating action sequences and a score of a stultifying, almost deafening quality.”
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