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Denis Villeneuve's first Dune movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards back in 2022, ultimately winning six. But in this year's Oscar nominations, Dune: Part Two came up with a relatively paltry five nominations - being dwarfed by Emilia Pérez (13 nominations), The Brutalist (10), Wicked (10), A Complete Unknown (8), Conclave (8), and Anora (6). Five Oscar nominations is nothing to dismiss, but for those that use nomination count as a evaluation of a project's worth (especially for certain awards) it has been seen as dismissive - for fans online, journalists like Slate's Nadira Goffe and RadioTimes' George White, and even second-generation actor (and Dune co-star) Josh Brolin.

"Apparently, I am going to quit acting because Denis Villeneuve didn’t get nominated," Brolin says on Instagram. "This is just how this thing works. It makes no sense to me. It’s an amazing film. It was even better than the first one."

For SlashFilm's Debopriyya Dutta, it's a "crime against sci-fi cinema."

As a reminder, Denis Villeneuve wasn't among the five director finalists in the 2022 Academy Awards either. It was nominated for 'Best Picture,' but out of a pack of 10 films, it lost out to CODA.

For what's going on here with the 2025 Academy Awards here and the perceived 'snub,' I think I know what's going on here... because it happened before with the Godfather movies.

Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies are this generation's Godfather, at least as far as critics go

1972's The Godfather earned 11 nominations when it was time for the Academy Awards, and two years later its sequel was also well-liked - in this case, with the same number of nominations - but critics weren't as thrilled. 

One of the pre-imminent movie critics at the time, the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel, gave a sharp remark in his review about comparing sequels to the originals that holds as true for the first two Godfather films as it does the first two Dune films. While calling it "as beautiful, as harrowing, and as exciting as the original" he pointed out the perceived flaw.

"In fact, The Godfather, Part II may be the second-best gangster movie ever made. But it's not the same," wrote Siskel in 1974. "Sequels can never be the same. It's like being forced to go to a funeral the second time—the tears just don't flow as easily."

The modern-day critic review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has the original Godfather movie being slightly (1% point) better than the sequel thanks to the 50 years of time that's elapsed. Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two has surpassed the original's aggregate critical rating with a 92% approval score, compared to the original's 83%.

Perhaps Dune: Part Two is being judged by the Academy Awards as relying too heavily on the groundwork that was set-up in the first movie, both in story but also direction. 

The Academy Awards have rules about sequels 

50 years later, there were early signs of that from the people behind the Academy Awards when the score to the second film was ruled ineligible due to a rule about re-use of material from previous works.

"In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise," reads the Academy Awards' rule book for 'Best Score.'

As you might recall, Hans Zimmer's score for Dune: Part Two shares many of the same cues from the 2021 original - which did win 'Best Score' in 2021.

While the rules aren't the same for other Oscar categories, this kind of thinking is prevalent amongst jurors at the Academy Awards, and in other awards organizations. Basically, that any sequel be judged on its own merits and as a free-standing project; that if needs the context of the original to be valued as a nomination-worthy project but would not without, then it fails to meet the criteria for being able to be judged well on its own merits.

As for while Denis Villeneuve's lack of a 'Best Director' nomination for Dune: Part Two could be seen as a 'snub,' the nominations for that are chosen by his fellow directors as part of the directors branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Now that the nominations are decided, the full body of people part of the Academy vote on the winners.

Sometimes, the most challenging part of a sequel is living up to (and surpassing) the original

As Gene Siskel pointed out with The Godfather Part II, it happened because of the original being such a hit - but when it leaves the nest to be on its own, it has to deal with the looming shadow its original casts. The Godfather Part II did ultimately win 'Best Film' and 'Best Director' for Francis Ford Coppola just like its original, but it was still seen as secondary to what went before - both with critics at the time, and with critics today as seen in aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes. 

While there are examples of sequels soundly surpassing their originals such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Mad Max: Fury Road, it's a delicate art to decide that especially with the recency bias we all share after watching Dune: Part Two in theaters (mostly) while the first Dune was at home during the pandemic (mostly). Was Dune: Part Two more enjoyable for most of us by having watched it in a theater, and that it started on the high level already established by the first? Possibly.

Dune: Part Two happened because of how well-received Denis Villeneuve's first Dune was. That it didn't get as many nominations as the originals is numerically a judgement if you choose to view it that way, but on its own a film we all love got six nominations in a crowded year with some amazing films. And most of those weren't living in the shadow of its predecessor.

Face your fear, and permit it to pass over you and through you with our key guides to all things Dune:

• Dune: Part Two's ending explained,
• All the Dune sequels and TV show prequels that are planned
• Dune watch order
• Which Frank Herbert story Denis Villeneuve believes would make a great Dune: Part Three
• Movies to watch after you've finished Dune
• Sisterhood of Dune ending explained: Understanding the book that Dune: Prophecy was based on

After reading it all, turn to the inner eye to see its path.