Denis Villeneuve Responds to Quentin Tarantino Refusing to Watch Dune: ‘I Don’t Care’

It’s safe to say that director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films are spectacular, both as works of cinema and in how they adapt author Frank Herbert’s best-selling sci-fi novels in a way that anyone can enjoy watching, whether they are longtime or newfound fans. However, fellow director Quentin Tarantino expressed a lack of interest in the films, to which Villeneuve coolly replied, “I don’t care.”

Before we dive into this story, it should be stated that neither party’s comments mean they harbor hard feelings for the other, regardless of how badly film Twitter wants them to throw disses at each other like Kendrick Lamar and Drake. The discourse started last week after Tarantino’s appearance on episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. In the interview, Tarantino revealed he’d watched David Lynch’s 1984 Dune film, starring Kyle MacLachlan, a handful of times—and doesn’t see the point in revisiting its story through Villeneuve’s lens.

“I don’t need to see that story again,” Tarantino said. “I don’t need to see spice worms. I don’t need to see a movie that says the word ‘spice’ so dramatically.”

While there’s some sense of irony in Tarantino’s adoration for Lynch’s film, considering Lynch wants nothing to do with it, Tarantino further elaborated his point by contextualizing it as part of his general fatigue with remakes in Hollywood, using FX’s Shōgun as another example.

“I saw Shogun in the ’80s. I watched all 13 hours. I’m good. I don’t need to see that story again, I don’t care how they do it,” Tarantino continued. “I don’t care if they take me and put me in ancient Japan in a time machine. I don’t care, I’ve seen the story.”

But of course, headlines tend to be where the majority of readers stop paying attention and sensationalize what is a pretty tame take into a damning statement. Thankfully, a curious reader crossed beyond the grabby headline and asked Villeneuve for his take on Tarantino’s comments during a recent Q&A with film students at Montreal’s Concordia University.

According to the Gazette, Villeneuve’s humorous “I don’t care” led to a lot of laughter in the room. Villeneuve then dove into how he agrees and disagrees with Tarantino’s take.

“It’s true, I agree with him that I don’t like this idea of recycling and bringing back old ideas,” Villeneuve said. “But where I disagree is that what I did was not a remake. It’s an adaptation of the book. I see this as an original. But we are very different human beings.”

With Villeneuve’s third Dune film, Dune Messiah, on the horizon, there’s a glimmer of hope that Tarantino will venture into theaters (or wherever he prefers to watch cinema) to check it out and see how it will adapt storylines beyond the scope of Lynch’s cult-classic film.

Dune Messiah does not yet have a release date, but early signs point to December 2026. In the meantime, prequel series Dune: Prophecy premieres November 17 on HBO and Max.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.