Dune: Part Two has been released to widespread critical acclaim and the hope now is that filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will next turn his sights to Dune: Messiah. The Dune helmer has already confirmed that he's working on the script, so chances are we'll see it become a reality in the not-too-distant future.
However, at least one person disappointed with the sequel is actor Tim Blake Nelson. He was supposed to appear in the movie, likely as Count Hasimir Fenring, an assassin and adviser to Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), who is married to Lady Fenring (Léa Seydoux).
"I don’t think I’m at liberty to say what the scene was," the actor recently told Movieweb. "I’d leave that to Denis if he wants to talk about it. I had a great time over there shooting it. And then he had to cut it because he thought the movie was too long. And 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."
Given the larger role Fenring plays in future Dune books, there's a good chance Nelson will get a second chance in Dune: Messiah. However, he wasn't alone in not making the final cut because there was also no sign of Dune's Stephen McKinley Henderson as House Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat.
"One of the most painful choices for me on this one was [to not include] Thufir Hawat," Villeneuve explained to Entertainment Weekly. "He’s a character I absolutely love, but I decided right at the beginning that I was making a Bene Gesserit adaptation. That meant that Mentats are not as present as they should be, but it’s the nature of the adaptation."
Nelson's rumoured character is also a Mentat, potentially explaining why The Incredible Hulk star was M.I.A. from Dune: Part Two's final cut.
Unfortunately, those of you hoping to see these deleted scenes on the eventual Blu-ray release will likely be left disappointed. Talking to Collider, Villeneuve explained why he has no intention to share moments which end up on the cutting room floor with Dune fans.
"I’m a strong believer that when it’s not in the movie, it’s dead. Sometimes I remove shots and I say, ‘I cannot believe I’m cutting this out. I feel like a samurai opening my gut. It’s painful, so I cannot go back after that and create a Frankenstein and try to reanimate things that I killed. It’s too painful. When it’s dead, it’s dead, and it’s dead for a reason. But yes, it is a painful project, but it is my job. The movie prevails. I’m very severe in the editing room. I’m not thinking about my ego, I’m thinking about the movie. I kill darlings, and it’s painful for me."
"I’ve made movies in my life that were 75 minutes, and this one is two hours, 45 [minutes], I think, something like that. It’s not the runtime, it’s about the storytelling, and I felt that I wanted to create a momentum. I wanted an energy in the movie that I was looking for that excited me, and I thought that was the perfect runtime … You can be bored by a five-minute movie."
Now, Villeneuve joins a list of directors who typically decline to release deleted scenes, including Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese.
Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters.