Denis Villeneuve will get to work on the 'Dune' remake once he's had a rest after completing 'Blade Runner 2049'.

Denis Villeneuve

Denis Villeneuve

The 49-year-old French/Canadian director's schedule has been relentless as once he had finished 'Sicario' he moved straight onto acclaimed sci-fi flick 'Arrival' and then onto the 'Blade Runner' sequel which is in post-production now and is due to hit cinemas in October.

Villeneuve will stay in the science-fiction genre to bring his own vision of Frank Herbert's book 'Dune' - which was made into a movie by David Lynch in 1984 - but only once he's taken a break after completing his duties on the follow-up film to Sir Ridley Scott's 1982 classic.

In an interview with Cinema Blend, he said: "I did 'Prisoners', and then after that, in the past six years I have done five movies - which is not a good idea! It's too fast. And I learned a lot, I learned so much, for the time now I need just a little time to digest.

"I would love to just digest and then come back with more energy for 'Dune' with fresh ideas. I need that right now! And so I need distance a little bit."

Villeneuve has long wanted to remake 'Dune' and tell the tale of the battle for the planet Arrakis back to a new generation of cinema goers.

He previously said: "I had been wanting to do sci-fi for a very long time; '2001: A Space Odyssey' is a movie that really impressed me as a teenager and also 'Blade Runner'. 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' is also one of my favourites. I'm always looking for sci-fi material, and it's difficult to find original and strong material that's not just about weaponry. A long-standing dream of mine is to adapt 'Dune'."

The 1984 'Dune' film received negative reviews upon its release but as the decades have past the film - which starred Kyle MacLachlan, Sir Patrick Stewart, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino and Brad Dourif among others - has become a cult classic of the genre.