Oscar-winning Dune cinematographer teases sequel: 'It's bigger and better'

"I've read the script and I'm more blown away than I was by Part One," Greig Fraser said backstage at the ceremony.

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Published on March 27, 2022 11:18PM EDT

Dune won six (and counting...?) Oscars on Sunday night, but fans of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel know that even more good stuff is on the way soon. Cinematographer Greig Fraser confirmed as much backstage after accepting his award for Best Cinematography.

After all, Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film only adapted the first half of the novel Dune; the rest is coming in Dune: Part Two, due in theaters next year. Fraser told journalists that he "can't give any scoops," but nevertheless teased some of the excitement the Dune team is already generating for their next outing to Arrakis.

"I've been trained by the house of the mouse at Lucasfilm not to give you any scoops," said Fraser, who has also directed episodes of The Mandalorian on Disney+. "But I can tell you that this is a bigger story. I've read the script, and I'm more blown away by this script than I was by Part One. I'm more excited."

Fraser continued, "I was sitting in a meeting with Denis and [production designer] Patrice [Vermette] and Paul [Lambert] the other day at Denis' house talking about this film, and I turned to Denis and said I can't believe these people pay us to do this. This is ridiculous. They pay us to make these movies which are so exciting and so amazing. I can tell you it's bigger and better."

Vermette and Lambert also won Oscars for their Dune work on Sunday — for Best Production Design and Best Special Effects, respectively.

Pre-production on Dune: Part Two is definitely underway. In recent weeks, EW has confirmed that Florence Pugh is in talks to play Princess Irulan, who plays a big role in the next part of the story, and Austin Butler is in early talks to play Feyd-Rautha — a descendant of the evil House Harkonnen who will emerge as a major rival to Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides.

When we last saw Paul at the end of 2021's Dune, he had taken up with Fremen like Chani (Zendaya) with hopes of eventually getting revenge on the Harkonnens for destroying his family — and maybe even making a play for the throne. We'll see how those plans play out in the "bigger and better" Dune: Part Two, but the journey may not even end there. After all, Herbert wrote five sequels to the first Dune, and Villeneuve told EW last year he'd also love to make a third movie (based on Herbert's Dune Messiah) if possible.

Speaking of Villeneuve, Fraser noted the injustice of the filmmaker getting snubbed for Best Director while so many other members of the team have won Oscars.

"Everything that gets written about Dune must start with the words Denis Villeneuve," Fraser said. For more on how Villeneuve's passion for the source material got Dune made, revisit EW's digital cover story on the making of the film.

In any event, after those Oscar wins tonight, we should all get ready for more Dune cinema in coming years.

Maureen Lee Lenker contributed additional reporting.

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