Denis Villeneuve Confirms ‘Rendezvous With Rama' Still in the Works

Eric Roth has written an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s “Rendezvous with Rama” for Denis Villeneuve to direct. Of all the projects Villeneuve has percolating next, after ‘Dune: Messiah,’ this is the one I’m most excited for.

Villeneuve’s long-gestating adaptation of Clarke’s novel is one hell of an ambitious undertaking, tackling, as Roth recently put it, “space and time.” Villeneuve has been attached to ‘Rama’ since before any other project he has in development.

Here’s Villeneuve, in his most recent interview, talking about his desire to direct “Rendezvous With Rama” (via Konbini):

There's a possibility of adapting an Arthur C. Clarke novel, “Rendezvous With Rama.” Like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” it’s about astronauts coming into contact with another civilization. It’s an exploration where we engage with technology that could realistically exist in the future, unlike ‘Dune’, which leans more toward fantasy. For the first time, I’d be able to work on hard science fiction. I’d love to do that at least once in my life.

‘Rama,’ which Villeneuve had previously described as “Arrival” on steroids, tackles a team of astronauts who are sent on a mission to explore a giant interstellar spaceship hurtling toward the sun. Since Clarke is the genius behind “2001: A Space Odyssey” then you can expect some mind-altering sci-fi to fit the proceedings.

Villeneuve is set to shoot “Dune: Messiah” in September. After that? Nobody knows what he’ll be doing next. It could be ‘Rama,’ or maybe “Cleopatra” or even his adaptation of Annie Jacobson’s “Nuclear War.”