Robert Pattinson Reveals Surprising Take on Extreme Conditions Filming ‘Dune: Part 3’
Twilight’s star has recently joined Denis Villeneuve’s iconic sci-fi franchise, but Robert Pattinson’s experience of filming Dune might not be much more pleasant than the rest of the cast’s one.
With all the modern technologies and CGI effects that filmmakers nowadays have in their hands, filming sometimes requires more authentic conditions, and these often result in the cast and crew barely hanging in there during the shoot.
Things like this have been frequently said about Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise, the filming of which happened in all kinds of deserts across the world.
With the third instalment being in the production now, enduring severe heat and struggling with heavy costumes is something Dune’s leading cast has been used to for a while, but Twilight’s actor Robert Pattinson is a newcomer in Villeneuve’s challenging cinematic universe.
Pattinson, however, managed to find a silver lining in the whole situation.
Robert Pattinson Says Filming ‘Dune: Part 3’ Was “So Relaxing” Due to Extreme Heat
Even though many other actors from the franchise previously admitted to having struggled on Denis Villeneuve’s set, Robert Pattinson was feeling just fine, even if at first he had to adjust to peculiar conditions.
As the actor told IndieWire while promoting his new movie Die, My Love, he wasn’t really himself while filming scenes for Dune: Part 3 in the Arabian desert during the heat peak, but soon found advantages in such a situation.
“When I was doing ‘Dune’ it was so hot in the desert that I just couldn’t question anything,” Pattinson said. “And it was so relaxing, like my brain actually wasn’t operating. I did not have a single functioning brain cell. And I was just listening to Denis [Villeneuve]: ‘Whatever you want!’” Pattinson said.
He also added that the whole experience had a positive impact on his career right now as the actor is currently “taking it into other roles”.
Talking about those, Pattinson revealed he couldn’t really say anything about his role in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic drama The Odyssey, while his Die, My Love co-star Jennifer Lawrence suggested Pattinson would be one of the sirens.
Denis Villeneuve Once Acknowledged He “Would’ve Died” Filming 2 ‘Dune’ Movies at Once
The franchise’s cast and crew might have been the most frequent ones to mention the severe conditions of filming Denis Villeneuve’s movies, but the director once admitted he felt pretty much the same way.
While promoting Dune: Part 2 back in 2024, Villeneuve mentioned he had once considered filming the first two films back-to-back, but the first one’s production proved this was a bad idea.
“My first thought was to shoot both movies back to back together, but now I think I would have died. It was really intense, and seeing how the world reacted to Part One was a boost of positive energy to go back into the desert”, Villeneuve revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, adding that having a break between the movies was a blessing.
Dune: Part 3 is now scheduled for a release on December 18, 2026.
