Dune director Denis Villeneuve is in talks with Legendary Pictures to direct a film version of Annie Jacobsen’s nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario. Legendary Pictures reportedly picked up feature rights for the book as a potential project for Villeneuve.
The official description of Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario reads: “There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And one of the triggers for that war would be a nuclear missile inbound toward the United States.
“Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These investigations are vital to how we understand the world we really live in—where one nuclear missile will beget one in return, and where the choreography of the world’s end requires massive decisions made on seconds’ notice with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have.
“Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.”
Denis Villeneuve Is Juggling Several Projects, Including ‘Dune Messiah’ and a Cleopatra Movie
As Dune: Part Two continues its profitable run in theaters, Denis Villeneuve has several options for his next project. One is Dune Messiah, but Villeneuve said recently that he would only direct Dune: Part Three if he knows it will top Dune: Part Two. He told Empire, “If we go back, it needs to be real; it needs to be relevant. If ever I do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last month, Denis Villeneuve indicated that he is juggling several projects. He said:
“I have four projects on the table, currently. One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now, but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly. So it would be a good idea to do something in between projects, before tackling Dune Messiah and Cleopatra. All these projects are still being written, so we’ll see where they go, but I have no control over that.”
Nuclear War: A Scenario is likely the “secret project” Denis Villeneuve referred to in The Hollywood Reporter interview. Also, it’s unclear if Villeneuve would serve as producer, writer, director, or some combination of the three on Nuclear War: A Scenario.
