This week, Vanity Fair revealed first images from the upcoming new adaptation of Dune. Its director is Denis Villeneuve, a French Canadian filmmaker behind Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Sicario. The cast is undeniably impressive. It includes, among others, Timothée Chalamet (Interstellar) as Paul Atreides; Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Fallout) as Lady Jessica; Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as Duke Leto Atreides; Josh Brolin (Sicario) as Gurney Halleck; Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl) as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Glossu Rabban, and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) as Duncan Idaho.
In an accompanying article, Villeneuve admits that Frank Herbert’s Dune presented quite a challenge. Small wonder there: Herbert’s sprawling science-fiction novel revolves around intrigue, war, prophecies, ecology, colonialism, and religious fundamentalism. All of it takes place in a far-future universe controlled by a galaxy-spanning feudal empire. This is why Villeneuve insisted on adapting Dune into two films, not unlike the recent It movies.
First published in 1965, Dune won both Nebula and Hugo awards. It became a critically acclaimed bestseller, selling over 20 million copies in dozens of languages. In 1973, Chilean director and writer Alejandro Jodorowsky started developing his ambitious adaptation of the novel but failed to secure financing. In 1984, filmmaker David Lynch directed an adaptation that, despite its numerous flaws, gained a cult status. Compared to it, Sci-Fi Channel’s Dune miniseries was quickly mostly forgotten.
First of the two Dune movies comes out on December 18, 2020.
