As the writer-director-producer of “Dune: Part Two,” Denis Villeneuve has triumphed with an epic, all-star adaptation of Frank Herbert’s ‘60s novel.

Following two earlier, not really successful stabs at the futuristic fable, Villaneuve scored with the first “Dune” in 2021 by being seriously faithful to the source.

“Dune” launched with an international cast that featured, among many,  Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson. Nominated for l0 Oscars, including Best Picture, “Dune” won six.

“Part 2” has added a Who’s Who of Who’s Hot to the cast with a post-“Elvis” Austin Butler as a sociopath, Christopher Walken as the aged Emperor and Florence Pugh (“Oppenheimer”) as his daughter.

Expectations in Hollywood decree that this sequel will “save” a long-stalled box-office to become the year’s first global box-office hit.

“We knew this would be more ambitious,” Villeneuve, 56, said in his French-inflected English yesterday in a virtual press conference.

“The first ‘Dune’ was contemplative with a boy” – Chalamet’s Paul Atreides – “who discovered a new planet. The second movie is when he takes action. It’s a war movie.

“I knew it would be a different rhythm, it would be more muscular.  Specifically, it’s a movie that has more energy and” – in a film that runs nearly three hours – “stronger pacing.”

Villeneuve had always planned to helm both parts but “Part Two” had a tighter schedule.

“It was important for me to bring people from ‘Part One’ who knew about the world we created — and I’d never done that before, working with the same partners.

“They knew exactly what I was looking for which made ‘Part Two’ a work in progress. Pre-production was intense and more compressed than ‘Part 1.’

“Because we’d done our homework in ‘Part One’ — like the sandworm’s look evolved — the interaction of the computer software that needed to be designed for ‘Part 1’ allowed us to work faster.”

In a world where moviegoing is being challenged, Villeneuve (like Christopher Nolan) is an unabashed cheerleader for the theatrical experience.

“The movies that created the spark in me to become a director were the movies that exhibited the power of the widescreen where you could immerse yourself.

“I’m trying to bring as much a spectacle as possible. I am trying the best as I can to make movies that will find their full power in a theater. It’s quite important that this is shot and edited thinking about the full screen.

“The sound at home may improve in the future but it will never be like a theater. You need space to create that impact.”

“Dune: Part Two” opens March 1

Denis Villeneuve attends the premiere of “Dune: Part Two” at Lincoln Center Plaza on Sunday in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)