Director Dune Doesn't Accept Plans For Warner Bros. And HBO Max

Dune's stills (Instagram @tchalamet)

JAKARTA - Dune director Denis Villeneuve has expressed opposition to Warner Bros. decision to move the release of the 2021 film to streaming service HBO Max.

In a recent essay for Variety, Villeneuve says this strategy is destroying one of the largest production houses in the film industry. He said the company AT&T failed with the release of HBO Max.

"With HBO Max's failed release so far, AT&T is sacrificing the entire Warner Bros. 2021 slot for the audience's attention."

According to him, streaming can produce great content but they can't make something as great as a Dune movie. Villeneuve thinks Warner Bros. killed the Dune franchise considering that they both have plans to make a sequel.

Warner Bros. announced changes to release plans in 202, during which 17 cinema films were released on HBO Max simultaneously.

Denis Villeneuve's Dune is one of the films that are included in the release strategy. It is known that the film was originally scheduled to air in December this year but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Warner Bros. postponed its release until October 2021.

Apart from Denis Villeneuve, Tenet's director, Christopher Nolan, expressed his disagreement. Nolan thinks Warner Bros. did not discuss with filmmakers and staff about a release on HBO Max. Warner Bros. declined to comment on the refusal of the two big directors.