Yesterday we got our first image, but today we got our first official look at Denis Villeneuve’s new adaption of Frak Herbert’s legendary science fiction novel: Dune.
Before Star Wars or Game of Thrones, DUNE was the first sci-fi story of feuding royals. It was also a David Lynch film from 1984 starring Kyle MacLachlan, who has gone on record saying:
“I’m very excited to see it,” MacLachlan told IMDB regarding Villeneuve’s new film. “There will be another one, there will be a couple of us out there, running around, there’s plenty of room I think, and Timothée I think will do a fantastic job. I’m very much looking forward to the vision Denis has. David Lynch, of course, it’s a very specific vision, so this will be something completely different, I’m sure. Why not have both stand on their own merits?”
PHOTO BY CHIABELLA JAMES
Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, mostly takes place on the dust-dry planet of Arrakis… the only place to mine the galaxy’s most vital resource, the mind-altering, time-and-space-warping “spice.” Timothée Chalamet leads the film as young royal Paul Atreides, who’s new home at Arrakis is threatening to destroy him. On Arrakis, Humans are seen as aliens, since the dominant life forms that actually reside there are gigantic sandworms that burrow through the sandy drifts like underground dragons.
Its an epic story that Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve agreed to do with one caveat: “I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”
The agreement was to split the epic narrative in half. So when Dune hits theaters on December 18, viewers will only see half of the novel. The film is clearly a massive priority for Warner Bros. who already agreed to tell the story in two films, similar to its approach with Stephen King’s It.
Either way, speaking to Vanity Fair, Villeneuve, told them how this age old story featuring a planet that is being mined to its death, is not just an epic adventure through space: “No matter what you believe, Earth is changing, and we will have to adapt, 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 film’s sprawling cast includes: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin. Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem and more…
