Denis Villeneuve Has Seen What You’re Saying About the Dune Popcorn Buckets

As Dune: Part Two draws closer and closer, one thing has been on everyone’s mind as the cast and crew open up about their experiences filming the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s spicy sci-fi saga: what about that popcorn bucket though?

It’s a question that has been put to the cast over and over since the internet got its hold on the, uh, wormussy late last month—a horrifying sandworm-shaped opening slapped on top of a collectible popcorn bucket that invites you to undergo your very own personal pain box test for a handful of buttered kernels. But what about Villeneuve himself? Well, he’s both shocked and impressed, not just by the bucket, but the internet’s inevitable reaction to the bucket.

“I don’t want to make stupid jokes right now that will I regret tomorrow morning. But I will say this,” Villeneuve recently told the New York Times when asked about the bucket. “When I saw it, I went, “Hoooooly smokes.” What the [expletive]!? At the same time, it created a lot of fun online. So maybe it’s positive? It’s some kind of … impressive design.”

Villeneuve was quick to stress that at no point was he involved in the design process for the bucket, but fellow interviewee and Dune star Timothée Chalamet did at least feel sympathetic for whichever poor person did before it got exposed to the dread inevitability of the internet. “I can’t tell if someone is at home right now going, ‘My design worked perfectly and everyone’s talking about it,’” Chalamet joked, “or if someone’s brutally offended by the response.”

Let’s hope for the former, because god knows it’s only going to get weirder as we get closer to Dune: Part Two releasing to the public at the end of this week—and more people themselves get to experience all the intricacies a sandworm has to offer.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

As Dune: Part Two draws closer and closer, one thing has been on everyone’s mind as the cast and crew open up about their experiences filming the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s spicy sci-fi saga: what about that popcorn bucket though?

It’s a question that has been put to the cast over and over since the internet got its hold on the, uh, wormussy late last month—a horrifying sandworm-shaped opening slapped on top of a collectible popcorn bucket that invites you to undergo your very own personal pain box test for a handful of buttered kernels. But what about Villeneuve himself? Well, he’s both shocked and impressed, not just by the bucket, but the internet’s inevitable reaction to the bucket.

“I don’t want to make stupid jokes right now that will I regret tomorrow morning. But I will say this,” Villeneuve recently told the New York Times when asked about the bucket. “When I saw it, I went, “Hoooooly smokes.” What the [expletive]!? At the same time, it created a lot of fun online. So maybe it’s positive? It’s some kind of … impressive design.”

Villeneuve was quick to stress that at no point was he involved in the design process for the bucket, but fellow interviewee and Dune star Timothée Chalamet did at least feel sympathetic for whichever poor person did before it got exposed to the dread inevitability of the internet. “I can’t tell if someone is at home right now going, ‘My design worked perfectly and everyone’s talking about it,’” Chalamet joked, “or if someone’s brutally offended by the response.”

Let’s hope for the former, because god knows it’s only going to get weirder as we get closer to Dune: Part Two releasing to the public at the end of this week—and more people themselves get to experience all the intricacies a sandworm has to offer.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.