Hans Zimmer says ‘Dune: Part Two’ Oscars disqualification was “stupid”

Hans Zimmer has called Dune: Part Two‘s disqualification from the Oscars‘ Best Original Score category “stupid”.

• READ MORE: The greatest Hans Zimmer scores

The composer’s work on last year’s sequel was ruled ineligible for this year’s Academy Awards due to its use of elements of music from the first Dune film.

Academy rules state that in “cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20 per cent of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise”.

Opening up about the controversy on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Zimmer reflected: “You know something? It’s not really a sore point. It’s just such a stupid point — how can it be a sore point?

“I got disqualified because I was using material from the first movie in the second movie, but it’s not a sequel. It is the completion… both movies are one arc.

“So was I supposed to go and take all the character themes away and write new character themes and develop them? It’s just a stupid rule,” he added. “What I didn’t want to do is go and bitch about it.”

Director Denis Villeneuve said back in November that the score should have been eligible, while Zimmer noted at the time that “it’s called Dune: Part Two. not Dune 2“.

“The story starts the second we finish the first movie,” the composer told Variety. “We are still within that story, those characters, and it would be foolish and completely un-cinematic to go and write new themes for the characters instead of enlarging the theme.”

Dune: Part Two ended up walking away with two Oscars at last weekend’s ceremony – Best Sound and Best Visual Effects – while Anora become the big winner of the night with five wins, including Best Picture.

Elsewhere in the new chat, Zimmer gave an update on the third Dune film, confirming that he talks to Villeneuve “every day” and that “it’s happening sooner rather than later”.

When asked whether he has ideas for a score, he teased: “Mmm, maybe….”

Last month, it was reported that the third Dune film is slated to start filming this summer, pending on cast availability.

In other news, Zimmer is due to embark on a UK and Ireland arena tour later this year called ‘The Next Level’, described as “a completely new show featuring groundbreaking electronic soundscapes and a spectacular light production”.

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