Denis Villeneuve Reacts To ‘Dune’ Directing Oscar Snub: “I Don’t Take Things For Granted & Was Deeply Pleased With What We Got”

The studio sci-fi epic “Dune” not only impressed critics and audiences alike, but it also got on the radar of the Academy Awards earlier this week. The dramatic space opera earned an impressive ten Academy Award nominations, only being beaten by “The Power of The Dog,” which nabbed twelve. While “Dune” missed out on a Best Director nod for director Denis Villeneuve, it still earned the coveted Best Picture nomination among other key categories. Still, that snub got under the skin of many pundits and fans, including “Dune” actor Josh Brolin, who recently voiced his frustration on Instragam by calling the outcome “f***inkg totally dumb.”

However, in a new interview with MovieMaker (see below), we’ve received some classy and level-headed reactions from the director himself on the Oscar nominations. For one, Villeneuve seemed shocked that the film was even considered for awards.

READ MORE: ‘Dune’: Josh Brolin Says Denis Villeneuve’s Best Director Oscar Snub Is “F***ing Dumb”

“Frankly, if you had told me a few months ago that we’d be in the Oscar race, that we’d have that kind of recognition, I would have not believed you. It’s really moving,” the French-Canadian filmmaker said, reflecting on the film’s ten nominations.

When asked about not receiving a Best Director nomination, Villeneuve took on a pragmatic tone and said, “If you’re nominated, it’s a beautiful thing…I don’t take things for granted, and I was deeply pleased with what we got.”

READ MORE: ‘Dune’: Denis Villeneuve “Always Envisioned Three Movies” & Says There’s No Director’s Cut Of ‘Part One’

Villeneuve is still passionately involved with the “Dune” franchise as he’ll shoot “Dune: Part Two” later this year and may direct on the HBO Max spinoff series “Dune: The Sisterhood.” He’s also pushed the idea of going beyond two films by adapting the second Frank Herbert novel “Dune Messiah” for a third feature film to round out a hypothetical trilogy.

There are six original novels from Herbert with many, many more beyond that Legendary can pull from for more shows and films beyond Villeneuve’s current run.