Link Tank: Dune Part Two Will Outshine the First Installment, Says Director

We’ve got commentary from Denis Villeneuve, Ryan Reynolds, Anthony Mackie, and others in today’s news from around the web.

Paul Atreides in Fremen gear in Dune Part 2
Photo: Warner Bros.

“I’m not saying the film is perfect, but I’m much more happy with Part Two than I was with Part One,” says Dune director Denis Villeneuve.

Dune director Denis Villeneuve says the upcoming sequel is “much better” than the first film, which won six Oscars after it was released in 2021. The filmmaker isn’t disparaging of his first stab at adapting Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi tome, but acknowledged there’s “something more alive” in Dune 2 which tackles the second half of the book.”

Read more at The Wrap

Ryan Reynolds beat the set photo snipers at their own game, releasing his own supposed Deadpool production images to mess with the algorithm.

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“This morning, Reynolds fired the kill shot in his new war. ‘Deadpool began with a leak. So I’m joining in,’ he wrote on Twitter/X, referring to the fact that leaked test footage of Reynolds in the red suit was what got the original movie greenlit in the first place. ‘But PLEASE don’t overuse the phrase “Deadpool Leaks” because it might screw up search results…’”

Read more at The A.V. Club

Fans of the post-apocalyptic adaptation Twisted Metal on Peacock got a welcome renewal announcement from the show’s star at this year’s Game Awards.

“Anthony Mackie surprised fans at the 2023 Game Awards. He didn’t just come out to announce the award for Best Ongoing Game (Cyberpunk 2077 won the category), but he also revealed that Twisted Metal was returning for a second season on Peacock. The TV series was also nominated at the Game Awards for Best Adaptation, but it lost to The Last of Us.”

Read more at Collider

It seems that Hollywood is so worried about musical movies bombing that adaptations like Wonka have shirked the songs from their source material.

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“The trailers for the Timothée Chalamet-fronted Wonka at Warners barely, if at all, hint at the song-and-dance numbers, while Tina Fey’s Paramount adaptation of the Broadway musical adaptation of her 2003 teen comedy Mean Girls has yet to show singing in online marketing materials.”

Read more at THR

The passing of Norman Lear resonates beyond his undeniable impact on the history of television.

“Norman Lear changed television. That, we know, is an absolute fact, and I’ll get to it in a moment. But what really saddens me at the news of Norman Lear’s death, at 101, is he won’t be here anymore to serve as a voice of reason as the United States continues to lose its mind.”

Read more at Variety