Denis Villeneuve has yet another upcoming project under his belt with the announcement of his attachment to I’m Waiting For You.
Denis Villeneuve has been in the public eye since the early 2010s following success with Enemy, Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival. The director then went on to direct the legacy sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic Blade Runner and then awards juggernaut Dune and its wildly successful sequel which was released most recently.
It’s hard to deny that he has elevated himself to a point of critical acclaim akin to that of fellow director Christopher Nolan. Following the box office success of Dune: Part Two, the director spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about why he isn’t ready to film Dune: Messiah or his upcoming Cleopatra film, instead opting for some other projects in between.
“I just finished Part Two very recently, and I went from Part One to Part Two without even an hour in between. I’m not complaining. I feel blessed to work, of course, but it’s just that I physically need to recover for a couple of weeks. It’s also about making sure that I have the right screenplay. I have four projects on the table, currently. One of them is a secret project that I cannot talk about right now, but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly. “
This brings us to the aforementioned secret project. Eric Roth, best known for his screenplays for A Star Is Born, Dune, and Killers of the Flower Moon, has been working on a secret project himself. Roth revealed this information in an episode of the Script Apart podcast:
“I just wrote a movie for Denis Villeneuve… We’ll see what ends up happening with it, but it’s about space and time, and it’s very lonely. It’s certainly about eternity.”
In a new report from Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel, it was revealed that this project is a separate project to another upcoming Villeneuve feature, Rendezvous with Rama, and is instead an adaptation of Bo-Young Kim’s 2021 book I Am Waiting For You which indeed is being written by Roth.
The short story being adapted is described as a futuristic love story, and follows a man journeying through space attempting to reunite with his fiancée, but is faced with obstacles which end up stalling their wedding date.
This brings Villeneuve’s total upcoming project count to 5. As for a release order, it is probable that I’m Waiting For You and Rendezvous with Rama come first, then Dune: Messiah, Cleopatra and Nuclear War.
Up next for Roth is the Robert Zemeckis film Here, a film about a single spot of land and follows its journey through time as well as its inhabitants. It’s the first time Zemeckis, Hanks and Roth have worked together in 30 years, the first time since Forrest Gump, and is scheduled to release on November 27, 2024.
