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Dune's Denis Villeneuve to adapt Arthur C. Clarke’s 'Rendezvous with Rama'
Clarke's contemplative sci-fi classic certainly seems well within the acclaimed director's wheelhouse.
Let the film adaptations of classic sci-fi films flow! After taking on Frank Herbert (quite successfully, it turns out), director Denis Villeneuve is now ready to tackle another sci-fi heavyweight: Arthur C. Clarke. The filmmaker behind Dune and Arrival is looking to adapt Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama for Alcon Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Alcon will finance and produce the film. Morgan Freeman's and Lori McCreery's production banner Revelations Entertainment will also produce (Freeman had previously held the rights to the book).
In a joint statement issued by Alcon, co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosov said Rendezvous with Rama is “one of the most intelligent works of fiction in the genre ... and is a work for our time,” before adding: “It’s perfectly fitted to our friend and collaborator Denis’ brilliant sensibilities and specifically to his love and passion for science fiction."
Villeneuve previously made Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049 for Alcon.
Originally published in 1973, Clarke's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel centers on a group of human explorers in the 2130s who intercept a cylindrical alien starship that enters the solar system. Considering the core concept of the novel could be described as "2001: A Space Odyssey meets Arrival," Villeneuve seems like a perfect fit for the material.
But before he can begin work on this sci-fi epic, Villeneuve still has work to do on the planet Arrakis. His latest film Dune only covered roughly half of Herbert's novel. But now that it's a bona fide critical and commercial success, Warner Bros. has greenlit a sequel (as well as officially renamed the first film Dune: Part One now that we know for sure that there will be a Part Two). Villeneuve has stated he not only wants to shoot Part Two as soon as possible, but is also open to the idea of doing a Part Three, which would be the second book in the series, Dune Messiah.
Dune: Part Two currently has a release date of Oct. 20, 2023.
