Steven Spielberg, director of classics ET and Jurassic Park, has given the biggest praise to fellow filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, revealing that his Dune films are among his “favourite sci-fi films of all time”.
Spielberg is making a comeback to the sci-fi genre this summer with the upcoming release of Disclosure Day, set to star Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor. The film is rumoured to be a secret sequel to his beloved 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The director recently commended Villeneuve’s blockbuster Dune films, telling Empire he “loved” them. Dune: Part One, released in 2021, grossed approximately $410m worldwide while the second film, released in 2024, grossed around $714m worldwide.
“They are among my favourite science-fiction movies – not just recently, but of all time,” the Jaws director said, revealing that he “cannot wait to see the third one”.
He continued: “I’m sure he’ll show it to me early. I’m such a fan of his.”
Dune: Part Three – the final film in the trilogy – will be released this December, and IMAX tickets are on sale now. It will introduce Robert Pattinson as the new shapeshifting villain, Scytale.
Spielberg continued: “I love the [Dune] books, and I just think his tribute to the books is like Guillermo [del Toro]’s tribute to Mary Shelley with Frankenstein: he honoured Mary Shelley as I think Denis honoured Frank Herbert.”
This is not the first time Spielberg has praised Villeneuve’s work, as he previously called Dune: Part Two “one of the most brilliant science-fiction films [he’d] ever seen” following its release in 2024.
In a Q&A between Spielberg and Arrival filmmaker Villeneuve in March 2024, Spielberg discussed the “filmmakers who are the builders of worlds”.
He said: “It’s not a long list and we know who a lot of them are. Starting with [Georges] Méliès and Disney and Kubrick, George Lucas. Ray Harryhausen I include in that list. Fellini built his own worlds.”
The Academy Award-winning director of Schindler’s List went on to list other greats such as Tim Burton, Wes Anderson, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan.
Spielberg said: “The list goes on, but it’s not that long of a list, and I deeply, fervently believe that you are one of its newest members… And that scene surfing the sandworms is one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Ever!”
Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is set to release in UK cinemas on 12 June 2026. Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three arrives in the UK on 18 December 2026.