Dune 2 Deemed Ineligible to Recieve Best Original Score Oscar Nomination

Hans Zimmer’s score for Dune 2 won’t be eligible for any Academy Awards.

Dune: Part Two was released in United States theaters in March 2024. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two is a sequel to 2021’s Dune and an adaptation of Frank Herbet’s 1965 novel of the same name.

Why can’t Hans Zimmer’s Dune 2 score be nominated for an Oscar?

Zimmer won the Best Original Score Academy Award for composing the score to 2021’s Dune. He returned to compose the sequel as well; however, per Variety, Dune: Part Two’s music surpasses the Academy’s limit on pre-existing music and is ineligible to be nominated in the Best Original Score category.

“In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise,” the Academy rule states.

Zimmer’s Dune 2 score is eligible to win awards from bodies such as the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, and Grammys. Zimmer also composed the score for Steve McQueen’s Blitz, which is eligible to win awards.

“In the world of storytelling, our purpose is to serve the narrative and connect with the audience,” Zimmer said of his Dune score. “With Dune: Part Two, we continue the journey we began in the first half of the book at the exact moment we left off. The score was always written to expand and evolve its themes and take them, like the book, to a natural ending, planned from the first word to the last note.”

He added, “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve collaboratively crafted with visionaries like Denis Villeneuve. This is our contribution to a larger cinematic experience.”

Starring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Dune: Part Two is currently streaming on Max.