Filming has officially started on Denis Villeneuve’s reboot of Dune, which has also released an official synopsis. Published in 1965, Frank Herbert’s novel Dune went on to become a classic of science fiction, with its mythic story of a far future world ruled by warring families and tied together by a mystical substance called the spice. David Lynch turned Dune into a movie in 1984, but the film was a bomb at the box office (though it has gone on to achieve cult classic status). A TV miniseries version of Dune was produced in 2000, and was later followed up by Children of Dune, an adaptation of Herbert’s own sequel novel.

Now, Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will take his own crack at bringing Dune to the big screen. Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet heads up the cast as Paul Atreides, the child of destiny at the center of Frank Herbert’s massive story. He’ll be joined by a formidable cast including Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgård as the evil Baron Harkonnen, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar and Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam. In the most recent bit of casting news, Chang Chen is reportedly in talks to play the role of Dr. Yueh.

As reported by Business Wire, Denis Villeneuve is now officially rolling on his star studded new adaptation of Dune. Produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, the film is shooting in Budapest, Hungary and in Jordan. Villeneuve wrote the script together with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts. An official synopsis has now also been released and can be read below:

Dune’s original trip to the big screen was a legendarily difficult process that first saw the story pass through the hands of cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose ambitious but ultimately failed attempt to make a movie out of Herbert’s novel was chronicled in the documentary Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune. Ridley Scott later inherited the project, but instead went on to make a different sci-fi classic in Alien. Producer Dino De Laurentiis finally realized the dream of bringing Dune to theaters, with David Lynch as director, but the film would prove to be a box office flop and a personally painful experience for Lynch.

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Almost 30 years after Lynch’s Dune seemed to kill all hope of a truly successful adaptation of Herbert’s epic book, Denis Villeneuve will now try to crack the code. Unlike Lynch, Villeneuve will have the luxury of dividing Dune’s huge and dense story into two movies. He will also have the benefit of modern day digital effects. He has already assembled an undeniably fascinating cast of actors to play the story’s many characters (and he isn’t done adding yet). After making a largely successful sequel to Blade Runner decades after the original, perhaps Villeneuve is the perfect person to bring Dune to theaters and truly do justice to Herbert’s book.

MORE: DENIS VILLENEUVE’S DUNE MOVIE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Source: Business Wire

  • Dune Release Date: 2021-10-22