Following on from the critically-acclaimed Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, director Denis Villeneuve is prepping for his next sci-fi offering, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel Dune.

Villeneuve has previously stated that his goal is “to make two films, maybe more” and now the filmmaker has confirmed to La Press (via DarkHorizons) that he will be splitting the epic sci-fi tale in two.

“Eric Roth has written the first draft and then I worked on it on my side,” said Villeneuve, who has described Dune as a dream project of his. “I have not had such fun creatively since Incendies. I wish I could direct both movies at the same time but it would have been too expensive. We’ll do them one at a time.”

Splitting the adaptation in two certainly seems like a smart decision given the scope and depth of the story and Herbert’s world, not to mention the criticism that Villeneuve received for Blade Runner 2049’s lengthy running time (including from his own producer Ridley Scott).

SEE ALSO: Denis Villeneuve says his Dune movie won’t take any inspiration from David Lynch’s adaptation

Villeneuve went on to state that he intends on beginning pre-production on Dune “soon”, so as always, we’ll keep you posted.