Dune 2's Official Runtime Breaks A Denis Villeneuve Record
The release of Denis Villeneuve's hotly anticipated "Dune: Part Two," which was delayed until March 2024, is slowly but steadily approaching. With the film's theatrical run imminent, confirmation of its total runtime surfaced through a perhaps unlikely but authoritative channel. As it turns out, "Dune: Part Two" breaks a Villeneuve record based on this length.
On the official website for The Film Classification and Rating Organization, or Eirin — akin to Japan's version of the MPAA — a search for the movie's title brings up the film regulator's justification for the G rating it decided appropriate for "Dune: Part Two." At the end of the list of reasons is text reading, "2時間46分," which indicates that the film's runtime is 2 hours, 46 minutes.
Before "Dune: Part Two," Villeneuve's longest film was "Blade Runner 2049," which clocks in at 2 hours, 43 minutes. So, while his upcoming feature may only beat the record by a grand total of three minutes, "Dune: Part Two" will earn the distinction of Villeneuve's lengthiest release.
Denis Villeneuve has a growing affinity for long movies
While Denis Villeneuve didn't always make movies with runtimes surpassing two and a half hours, it appears to be indicative of his present-day approach to filmmaking. The first Dune movie is 2 hours and 35 minutes long, so even as "Dune: Part Two" sets a new record for the director, it's only 11 minutes longer than its predecessor.
Villeneuve's first few films — "August 32nd on Earth," "Maelström," and "Polytechnique" — all clock in under the 90-minute mark. His first long movie, 2010's "Incendies," totals 2 hours and 11 minutes. His follow-up feature, "Prisoners," is even longer, at 2 hours, 33 minutes. However, between "Prisoners" and "Blade Runner 2049," he directed a string of films around or under two hours.
"Blade Runner 2049," notably, was once going to be four hours before its runtime was pared down significantly. Now, with "Dune," Villeneuve is essentially able to direct an even longer five-hour movie of sorts by splitting the book's original story into two parts and releasing each half as a distinct feature.