One key figure was among the missing in the Best Director category when the 2025 Oscars nominees were announced this week: Denis Villeneuve for Dune: Part Two. The Best Director nominees include Sean Baker (Anora), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), but Villeneuve’s absence comes as a surprise given Dune: Part Two‘s critical and financial success. Considering at least two of those movies were much more poorly received only drives home the snub.

It’s not as though Dune: Part Two was overlooked by the Oscars voting body, either. The film is nominated in a respectable five Academy Award categories: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound. Villeneuve missing in a category specifically acknowledging his directorial vision is a harsh snub by the Academy, especially considering the Best Picture selection.

Dune: Part Two Was Praised By Critics & Audiences (But Overlooked By The Academy)

Dune: Part Two Was A Hit Thanks To Denis Villeneuve

Dune: Part Two received praise from moviegoers and critics alike. The movie was the highest rated of the year on both Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes, and the sci-fi epic currently boasts 4.4 out of 5 stars on Letterboxd and a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences backed up critics’ opinions with their wallets, making it one of the most successful movies of 2024 with a global box office total of almost $715 million.

Despite Villeneuve’s success with audiences and critics, it apparently wasn’t enough to impress the Academy. It’s unclear why he failed to make the cut for Best Director, but fellow industry members have stood up for the director. Josh Brolin, who stars as Gurney Halleck in Dune, preemptively threatened to “quit acting” should Villeneuve be snubbed again by the Oscars for Dune: Part Two. Brolin declared the film to be “masterful” and Villeneuve as “one of our master filmmakers.”

Fellow filmmakers James Cameron and Steven Spielberg also applauded the film, with the latter calling Dune: Part Two one of the “most brilliant science fiction films” he had ever seen (via The Director’s Cut). For his part, James Cameron also gave Dune: Part Two high praise, calling it “pure cinema.” Considering they are two of the most celebrated and lauded filmmakers of all time, their words carry weight, and they’d arguably agree that Villeneuve once again not being nominated for Best Director for a Dune movie is a huge oversight.

It’s Not Villeneuve’s First Time Missing Out on a Best Director Nomination

Villeneuve Has Failed To Garner Nominations For Most Of His Films

Villeneuve’s shut-out with Dune: Part Two is not his first, nor was Dune. He similarly missed Best Director nominations for other well-received films, including Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Sicario (2015), and Prisoners (2013.) Dune picked up a whopping ten nominations for the 2022 Oscars, going on to win six of the awards, but Villeneuve did not pick up a nod himself. Early predictions forecasted the filmmaker as a contender in the category, but this ultimately did not come to fruition, and it seems the same has happened again for Dune: Part Two, despite the sequel being even more praised.

Surprisingly, Villeneuve has been recognized for his directorial vision only once. In 2016, he received the coveted Best Director nomination for Arrival, his mind-bending and poignant science-fiction drama starring Amy Adams as a linguist attempting to save the world from a war with extraterrestrials. He ultimately lost the award to La La Land‘s Damien Chazelle, and while that was arguably understandable, his snub by the Academy this year for Dune: Part Two is unforgivable.

The success of Dune: Part Two is tied to Villeneuve’s expert eye, yet he has not been recognized for this extraordinary work. Translating Frank Herbert’s Dune novels to the big screen is no easy feat, yet Villeneuve succeeded not once, but twice in crafting a strong film that remains true to the source material. Now, it means Dune: Messiah, which is set to release in 2026, is Villeneuve’s last chance to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Director for his work on the Dune franchise.