Despite being one of the biggest and most successful films of the year, Dune: Part Two is set to miss out on a key Oscar category that it stood a strong chance of winning.
Director Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to his 2021 film, which concluded the first book of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi series, was lauded upon release by critics and audiences alike.
Even though the film has been praised for its thrilling action sequences and intelligently adapting Herbert’s novel for the big screen, one of its lasting impressions was Hans Zimmer’s electrifying score, which evokes the feeling of Arrakis’s treacherous landscape.
Zimmer won the Best Score Oscar in 2022 for his work on the first Dune film, but his efforts on the sequel will not be eligible next year due to the Academy’s rules on using pre-existing music, as reported by Variety.
Dune: Part Two features a substantial amount of music from the first film, which voids it from being considered for nomination.
The Academy’s rules on the issue are as follows: “In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20 per cent of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.”
That being said, the film’s score is still eligible for nomination for numerous other awards bodies including the Golden Globes, Bafta and the Grammys.
Zimmer could still yet land an Oscar nomination this year with his work as composer on Steve McQueen’s Blitz standing him in good contention to at least get one nod for March’s ceremony.
The German composer has been nominated for 12 Oscars during his career, with the first being for Rain Man in 1989. His only two wins have been for Dune in 2022 and The Lion King in 1995.
Speaking to Variety, Zimmer seemed undeterred by the rejection, saying: “The score was always written to expand and evolve its themes and take them, like the book, to a natural ending, planned from the first word to the last note.”
According to a report from Deadline, work on a script for Dune: Part Three has begun, with the director also revealing that an adaptation of the nonfiction book Nuclear War: A Scenario will be his next project after the third instalment in the Dune franchise.
Despite entering development, the film hasn’t been officially greenlit by Warner Bros. Villeneuve has been cautious when discussing the possibility of a sequel, calling the script “barely an embryo” during Dune: Part Two’s opening weekend.
