One key figure was among the missing in the Best Director category when the2025 Oscars nomineeswere announced this week: Denis Villeneuve forDune: Part Two. The Best Director nominees include Sean Baker (Anora), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), but Villeneuve’s absence comes as a surprise givenDune: Part Two’s critical and financial success. Considering at least two of those movies were much more poorly received only drives home the snub.
It’s not as thoughDune: Part Twowas overlooked by the Oscars voting body, either. The film is nominated in a respectable five Academy Award categories: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound. Villeneuve missing in a category specifically acknowledging his directorial vision is a harsh snub by the Academy, especially considering the Best Picture selection.
Dune: Part Two Was Praised By Critics & Audiences (But Overlooked By The Academy)
Dune: Part Two Was A Hit Thanks To Denis Villeneuve
Dune: Part Tworeceived praise from moviegoers and critics alike. The movie was the highest rated of the year on bothLetterboxdandRotten Tomatoes, and the sci-fi epic currently boasts4.4 out of 5 stars on Letterboxd and a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences backed up critics' opinions with their wallets, making it one of the most successful movies of 2024 with a global box office total of almost $715 million.
Despite Villeneuve’s success with audiences and critics,it apparently wasn’t enough to impress the Academy.It’s unclear why he failed to make the cut for Best Director, but fellow industry members have stood up for the director. Josh Brolin, who stars as Gurney Halleck inDune, preemptively threatened to “quit acting” shouldVilleneuve be snubbed again by the Oscars forDune: Part Two. Brolin declared the film to be “masterful” and Villeneuve as “one of our master filmmakers.”
“Makes No Sense”: Josh Brolin Reacts To Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar Snub For Dune: Part 2 After Threatening To Quit Acting If It Happened
Dune: Part Two star Josh Brolin, who plays Gurney, reacts to Denis Villeneuve’s exclusion from the Acadamy Awards' Best Director nomination.
Fellow filmmakers James Cameron and Steven Spielberg also applauded the film, with the latter callingDune: Part Twoone of the “most brilliant science fiction films” he had ever seen (viaThe Director’s Cut). For his part,James Cameron also gaveDune: Part Twohigh praise, calling it “pure cinema.” Considering they are two of the most celebrated and lauded filmmakers of all time, their words carry weight, and they’d arguably agree that Villeneuve once again not being nominated for Best Director for aDunemovie is a huge oversight.
It’s Not Villeneuve’s First Time Missing Out on a Best Director Nomination
Villeneuve Has Failed To Garner Nominations For Most Of His Films
Villeneuve’s shut-out withDune: Part Twois not his first, nor wasDune. He similarly missed Best Director nominations for other well-received films,includingBlade Runner 2049(2017),Sicario(2015), andPrisoners(2013.)Dunepicked up a whopping ten nominations for the 2022 Oscars, going on to win six of the awards, but Villeneuve did not pick up a nod himself. Early predictions forecasted the filmmaker as a contender in the category, but this ultimately did not come to fruition, and it seems the same has happened again forDune: Part Two, despite the sequel being even more praised.
Every Denis Villeneuve Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
The renowned filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has made several of the greatest films of the 21st century, including Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune 2.
Surprisingly, Villeneuve has been recognized for his directorial vision only once. In 2016, he received the coveted Best Director nomination forArrival, his mind-bending and poignant science-fiction drama starring Amy Adams as a linguist attempting to save the world from a war with extraterrestrials. He ultimately lost the award toLa La Land’s Damien Chazelle, and while that was arguably understandable,his snub by the Academy this year forDune: Part Twois unforgivable.
The success ofDune: Part Twois tied to Villeneuve’s expert eye, yet he has not been recognized for this extraordinary work. Translating Frank Herbert’sDunenovels to the big screen is no easy feat, yetVilleneuve succeeded not once, but twice in crafting a strong film that remains true to the source material. Now, it meansDune: Messiah, which is set to release in 2026, is Villeneuve’s last chance to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Director for his work on theDunefranchise.
Dune: Part Two
Cast
Dune: Part Two continues the epic saga of Paul Atreides as he allies with Chani and the Fremen. Pursuing retribution for his family’s devastation, Paul grapples with a significant decision impacting his personal desires and the universe’s future, attempting to avert a dire destiny that only he anticipates.
