One of the movies we're most looking forward to watching when movie theaters reopen is a new adaptation of Dune, starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. From director Denis Villeneuve (
The film is based on a groundbreaking sci-fi book series.
Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, Dune, is the first installment in a six-book series. The follow-up novels are Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
The series follows the story of Paul Atreides (Chalamet), the heir to a noble family in a universe where planets are divided amongst dynasties, ruled over by the Padishah Emperor. At the beginning of Dune, the Atreides family is granted power over the mining planet Arrakis. The planet hosts a highly valuable spice known as melange, which makes a longer lifespan and intergalactic space travel possible. Due to the covetable nature of melange, every other family in the galaxy challenges the Atreides for dominance. Paul escapes the war that erupts around him to the desert, where he is declared a prophet-like figure named Kwisatz Haderach by the Fremen who reside in the area. The complex story and advanced visual technology required to tell it made translating the series to the big screen a Herculean task.
Dune boasts an all-star cast.
Chalamet's Paul Atreides is the heir to an intergalactic throne fighting to protect his family's planet of Arrakis. Zendaya will play Chani, a young Fremen who connects with Paul. Rebecca Ferguson will play Paul's mother, Lady Jessica, and Oscar Isaac will play Paul's father, Duke Leo Atreides.
Other ensemble members include Javier Bardem as Freman leader Stilgar, Jason Momoa as Paul's swordmaster teacher Duncan Idaho, Josh Brolin as Paul's warrior mentor Halleck, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Stellan Skarsgard as House Atreides enemy Baron Harkonnen, and Dave Bautista as the Baron's nephew "The Beast."
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One change to the source material comes with the casting of Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Rogue One) as Dr. Liet Kynes, an Arrakis ecologist who becomes a Fremen leader. The character is usually portrayed by a white man (the late Max von Sydow played him in the 1984 film adaptation), but Duncan-Brewster is a Black woman. “What Denis had stated to me was there was a lack of female characters in his cast, and he had always been very feminist, pro-women, and wanted to write the role for a woman,” Duncan-Brewster told Vanity Fair. “This human being manages to basically keep the peace amongst many people. Women are very good at that, so why can’t Kynes be a woman? Why shouldn’t Kynes be a woman?”
The first trailer is a fantastical journey to the desert.
Cast members from the film and director Villeneuve joined Dune fan Stephen Colbert for a virtual Q&A and trailer premiere. According to Deadline, Villeneuve joked about the epic scale of the footage, explaining, “They didn’t shoot Jaws in a swimming pool.” In fact, the trailer has enough visual spectacle to sustain moviegoers for months. "There’s something happening to me," Chalamet's Paul begins, via voiceover. "There’s something awakening in my mind, I can’t control it. There’s a crusade coming."
As Paul grapples with the nature of his dreams, he endures a box of pain (courtesy of a veiled Reverend Mother Mohiam), and sets his sights on Chani. “Dune is a movie about the capacity of adaptation because there are a lot of changes coming,” Villeneuve warned. “That’s why Dune is more relevant than ever.”
Villeneuve sees the movie as "a call for action for the youth."
Although the movie is based on a 55-year-old book, Villeneuve has spoken about how resonant the themes about the Earth's dwindling resources are for today. “No matter what you believe, Earth is changing, and we will have to adapt,” he told Vanity Fair. “That’s why I think that Dune, this book, was written in the 20th century. It was a distant portrait of the reality of the oil and the capitalism and the exploitation—the overexploitation—of Earth. Today, things are just worse. It’s a coming-of-age story, but also a call for action for the youth.”
The director, who will reunite with composer Hans Zimmer for the film's music, also opened up about the complexity of adapting Dune. “It’s a book that tackles politics, religion, ecology, spirituality—and with a lot of characters,” Villeneuve told the oulet. “I think that’s why it’s so difficult. Honestly, it’s by far the most difficult thing I’ve done in my life.”
The movie will be split into two parts.
Once Villeneuve completes his most challenging film, he'll have to return for a follow-up. In April 2020, Villeneuve confirmed to Vanity Fair that he would be splitting the movie into two parts in an effort to tackle Herbert's behemoth original novel. “I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie,” Villeneuve told VF. “The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”
The first half is still slated to be released on scheduleL December 18, 2020. In a statement to Vanity Fair, Villeneuve spoke about filming in the movie in the southern deserts of Jordan and his eagerness for audiences around the world to watch. “I look forward to a time when we can all get together again as Dune was made to be seen on the big screen,” the director said. The film's cinematographer Greig Fraser told Collider that although the story will be adapted into two parts, the first is “a fully standalone epic film that people will get a lot out of when they see it.” The script for Dune was written by Eric Roth (2018's A Star Is Born) and Jon Spaihts (Prometheus).
Dune has been adapted into movies and TV shows before.
Just because the series was labeled un-filmable doesn't mean several filmmakers didn't try. In the '70s, avant-garde director Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to mount a film adaptation to no avail, as depicted in the 2014 documentary Jodorowsky's Dune.
Then the Oscar-nominated auteur David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) helmed a big-screen adaptation of the book in 1984. Starring Kyle MacLachlan in his first major movie role, Dune was met with lackluster critical reviews and flopped at the box office. (It's now considered somewhat of a cult classic.)
That was followed nearly two decades later by an early-aughts Syfyminiseries starring Alec Newman, which failed to make much of a cultural impact. Then came a lengthy development process on a new movie at Paramount between 2008 and 2011, which involved filmmakers including Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon) and Pierre Morel (Taken). Villeneuve boarded the project in 2016. Dune: The Sisterhood, a female-centric HBO Max series, is also in the works with Villeneuve set to direct the pilot.
