As you watch Paul Atreides transform from a troubled young royal to a troubled young leader in Dune: Part Two, you may be reminded of another critically-adored film. As the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, tells us, he had Akira on his mind. In the new episode of Esquire Talks, the French-Canadian director reveals the 1988 animated classic, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, was a key inspiration when adapting Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic.
It was not a conscious choice, and it reminded me of something, and suddenly it became obvious as I was storyboarding, ‘Okay I’m doing Akira.’”Otomo’s much-loved film takes place among the biker gangs of the of Neo-Tokyo. “That brought joy to my heart because it’s a movie I absolutely adore,” Villeneuve continues, praising the film’s editing and framing. “There’s something about Japanese sensibility that always blew me away.