Dune 2 director Denis Villeneuve reacts to the Oscars minus Hans Zimmer’s music

“Dune: Part Two” was one of the biggest movies of 2024Unfortunately, not everyone who contributed to the film’s success will be honored for their work at the upcoming Academy Awards. A few months ago, it was confirmed that the famous composer Hans Zimmer will not be eligible in the Best Original Score category Because the sequel’s soundtrack shares a lot of music with the first film. The Academy stipulates that a sequel cannot use more than 20% of the music of the previous entry in its score and still be eligible in this category.

Zimmer’s exclusion was mitigated somewhat by the fact that his soundtrack to the first “Dune” film had already won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. However, fans lamented its removal from this year’s category, as the sequel arguably has a better soundtrack, anchored by the popular love theme “A Time of Quiet Between the Storms”. Director Denis Villeneuve has now joined that chorus by expressing his dismay at the Academy’s rejection of Zimmer.

On January 2, 2025, I attended a screening of “Dune: Part Two” at the Directors Guild of America in New York, where Villeneuve gave a brief speech discussing the film and its awards season aspirations. “I’m against the Academy’s decision to exclude Hans, frankly, because I feel his score is one of the best musical scores of the year,” the director said when asked about Zimmer’s contributions to the film. “I don’t use the word genius very often, but Hans is one of them.”

It is natural for the director to stand behind his team, therefore naturally Villeneuve will support Zimmer in his Oscar bid. He discussed the unique nature of the Dune films, arguing that the outcome of Part II is “rooted in ‘Part One,’ of course, because there’s continuity” and describing the duology as “one big movie that was cut ‘in half.'” Unfortunately, that seems to be the problem Academy exactly, and Zimmer getting one award for “Dune” probably didn’t help his cause (although you could argue it should have).

While some of the delays, instrumentation and leitmotifs certainly run across both films, “Dune 2” has a whole host of new music as well. The film is packed with far more action and drama than the slow burn of its predecessor, and these heightened moments wouldn’t work as well without them New arrangements composed by Zimmer for “Dune 2”.

While Villeneuve is clearly disappointed to see the score for “Dune 2” left out of the Oscars, he made it clear during the DGA discussion that he holds no grudges. “I’m not here to complain,” he joked, although he confirmed that the soundtrack is actually a continuation of the first part.

It’s clear to hear Villeneuve talk about a great working relationship between him and Zimmer on the Dune films, which began with a shared love of Frank Herbert’s novel. The director said: “Hans has been my partner since day one,” referring to the beginning of his work in the first part of the movie “Dunes.” “The first artist I contacted was Hans Zimmer. I knew he loved the book, and I knew he wanted to work with me on this project.” During the early stages, the two worked closely together, according to Villeneuve, who described Zimmer as “my closest ally for discussing the substratum of what the film means.”

While Zimmer was keen to join the project from the beginning, part of his job was apparently a bit daunting, even for such an acclaimed composer. “The only time I saw Hans Zimmer nervous was when we talked about the topic of love,” Villeneuve said. “He said, ‘So what is important to you?’ And I said, ‘I would love for you to write something that would break our hearts about this love, this young woman who falls in with this guy, this young man who falls in with the girl and her culture.’” This theme of love, The stunning “Calm Between the Storms” became one of the highlights of “Part 2,” but according to the director, Zimmer was nervous at first. “He turned pale,” Villeneuve said. “That’s the hardest thing to write.”

In the end, both director and composer get their jobs done, providing a shining example of blockbuster filmmaking at its best. And although Zimmer won’t be taking the stage at the Oscars for “Dune: Part Two,” his music is sure to be featured for years to come.

For more about Modern Hollywood film themes and composers’ comments, see this article Last year we published interviews with Michael Giacchino, John Ottman, and more.