Together with Christopher Nolan‘s Tenet (2020), Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune (2020) is probably the most long-awaited movie coming up this year. A very strange year due to the global pandemic fits as a perfect background for science-fiction epics of the magnitude of these two film titans. If Tenet (2020) is being the key title of the very unusual summer season, Dune (2020) is expected to do the same this winter. And we are getting closer to see what the director Denis Villeneuve likes to call the Star Wars he never saw, quoting his words “in a way, it’s Star Wars for adults“.
As many must know, Dune (2020) is another adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s epic science-fiction novel of the same name, after David Lynch‘s Dune (1984), and the miniseries Dune (2000), and Children of Dune (2003– ). This time, the screen adaptation has been written by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus (2012)), Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)), and the director Denis Villeneuve.
Denis Villeneuve confirmed that his adaptation of Dune (2020) will be split into two films in order to ensure that the original story would be “preserved and not cut into a million pieces“. The movie is set in the far future of humanity, Duke where Leto Atreides accepts the stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, “the spice”, a drug which extends human life and provides accelerated levels of thought, and makes faster-than-light travel possible. Though Leto knows the opportunity is an intricate trap set by his enemies, he takes his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica, young son and heir Paul, and most trusted advisers to Arrakis. Leto takes control of the spice mining operation, which is made perilous by the presence of giant sandworms. A bitter betrayal leads Paul and Jessica to the Fremen, natives of Arrakis who live in the deep desert.
According to Warner Bros., Dune (2020) is…
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey. It tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, 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.
The cast for Dune (2020) is plagued by international A-class names, including Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Chen Chang.
Dune (2020) is produced by Legendary Pictures together with Villeneuve Films. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the movie on December 18, 2020, after being moved from its original release date on November 20, 2020. Here you can watch the first trailer for Dune (2020).
