A guide to the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel
Dune finally has a confirmed release date: October 14, 2021. A movie six years in the making, the hype has been steadily building, especially with the attachment of Denis Villeneuve, the critically acclaimed director behind the successful Blade Runner sequel, and star-studded cast including Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Adding to the excitement, Dune received an eight-minute standing ovation after its showing at the 78th Venice Film Festival, with praise from top reviewers and industry giants including Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao.
Based on Frank Herbert's beloved sci-fi novel, this movie follows Duke Leto Atreides and his son, Paul Atreides, who has been tasked by a tyrannical emperor to oversee the dangerous harvest of 'The Spice', a valuable substance from Arrakis that can prolong life and bestow superhuman powers. Paul begins to hear the voice of Chani, a woman fighting to protect Arrakis, and embarks on a mission to liberate the planet from its oppressors.
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Here's what we know so far about Dune:
It's split into two parts
The beloved 500-page novel strikes the perfect balance between detailed exposition describing the epic world and fast-paced character-driven plot, alongside piercing social and political commentary.
However, it is precisely this unique aspect that garnered the novel a reputation for being notoriously difficult to adapt for cinema. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's attempt at adapting the novel was scrapped after three years in development as the budget was unable to keep up with the scale of the world.
David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation was also met with much hostility. In his review, Roger Egbert commented: "This movie is a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time."
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Understanding the complexity of Dune and perhaps inspired by the success of the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, Frank Herbert's Dune, Villeneuve made the bold decision to tell the story in two movies, despite not yet obtaining the green light for the second film. "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," he said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
And it appears that this decision has paid off, as the early reviews have been celebrating that the powerful sci-fi novel has finally been done justice on the big screen.
