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Dune (titled onscreen as Dune: Part One) is a movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's original novel of the same name. It adapts about the first half of the novel.

It was released in theaters on October 22, 2021 in the United States.[1] It was previously anticipated for release on December 18, 2020,[2] but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting theaters reopening and attendance.

The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve, from a script penned by Eric Roth, Denis Villeneuve, and Jon Spaihts, produced by Legendary Entertainment, and distributed by Warner.[3]

A sequel was released on March 1, 2024.

Synopsis[]

Official synopsis of Dune from the press release:[4]

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.

Full description from the press site:

Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”) directs Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ “Dune,” the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller of the same name.

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.

The film stars Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

Villeneuve directed “Dune” from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth based on the novel of the same name written by Frank Herbert. Villeneuve also produced the film with Mary Parent, Cale Boyter and Joe Caracciolo, Jr. The executive producers are Tanya Lapointe, Joshua Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert.

Behind the scenes, Villeneuve reteamed with two-time Oscar-nominated production designer Patrice Vermette (“Arrival,” “Sicario,” “The Young Victoria”), two-time Oscar-nominated editor Joe Walker (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Arrival,” “12 Years a Slave”), two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert (“First Man,” “Blade Runner 2049”), and Oscar-winning special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer (“Blade Runner 2049”). He also collaborated for the first time with Oscar-nominated director of photography Greig Fraser (“Lion,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”); three-time Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Revenant,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Quills”) and co-costume designer Bob Morgan; and stunt coordinator Tom Struthers (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception”). Oscar-winning and multiple Oscar-nominated composer Hans Zimmer (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Inception,” “Gladiator,” “The Lion King”) is creating the score.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Present “Dune.”

Plot[]

Set against the backdrop of Arrakis, a desert planet home to the Fremen, and the only known source of spice — a cinnamon-like substance and the most sought after commodity in the universe, one necessary for travel between distant worlds — Chani Kynes tells the history of the harsh rule the Fremen (Arrakis’ native population) face under House Harkonnen. Living under the Harkonnens for years, specifically the cruel and sadistic rule of Rabban, Chani and the Fremen are surprised when House Harkonnen’s rule of Arrakis is suddenly ended by the Emperor, Shaddam IV.

Years later, it’s the year 10191. Caladan is the homeworld of the ruling House Atreides. An emergency meeting is called between House Atreides and the Emperor, in which he offers House Atreides the stewardship of Arrakis, to which they proudly accept. Poised as a polite offer, Leto (the head of Atreides) is aware that the Emperor has planned his next moves carefully, and plans to eradicate House Atreides and hand back control of Arrakis to House Harkonnen.

Leto’s only child, his son Paul, tries to convince one of his mentors, Duncan Idaho, to allow him to travel to Arrakis with him the next day, but Paul is flatly turned down. Paul tells Duncan that he has had visions of Arrakis and the Fremen, which become more suspicious when Paul explains that he has seen Duncan lying in the desert, presumably deceased. Duncan still refuses, not wanting to put Paul in danger but equally not to break Leto’s rules.

Frustrated with the outcome, Paul talks with his father about the situation, but finds that he too is reluctant to allow Paul to travel to Arrakis early. He tells Paul that he is the future of House Atreides and will sit on his council with him. The two discuss how they will need to master the desert in order to rule Arrakis, but will seek to bond with the Fremen and bring peace to the Houses. Later, Paul is running through his blade training when Gurney, another of his mentors, joins him and attacks him vigorously, reminding him that the bodily shields they wear can be penetrated by a slow moving blade. Thought Paul has been an excellent student of both Gurney and Duncan, Gurney tells him the new foe they face, the Harkonnens, are more brutal than any other enemy they have.

Days later, Paul is awoken during the night by his mother, Jessica, with news that Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam has arrived and wishes to question him about the strange dreams he has been having. Jessica explains that Mohiam is a respected and high ranking member of the Bene Gesserit; Paul is aware that the Bene Gesserit is an all-female group of spies and theologians who have enhanced physical and mental powers. Paul has been training as a member of the Bene Gesserit under his mother.

After being warned about the Bene Gesserit by Wellington Yueh, a Suk doctor and friend of Jessica’s. Paul enters the room and meets Mohiam. Using the voice to make him passive, she subjects him to a test involving a mysterious box and a poison needle called a gom jabbar. Despite being warned that failing the test would result in his death, Paul calls upon the training of his mother and focuses his mind, passing the test which subjects his right hand to extreme pain inside the box. He is indifferently congratulated by Mohiam. As Mohiam leaves, she talks with Jessica about Paul being The One. Paul overhears the conversation and questions Jessica about it. Jessica reveals that the Bene Gesserit have been manipulating bloodlines for centuries to eventually create someone who is capable of bringing peace to the houses. She remarks that some believe The One is already here.

Weeks later, House Atreides arrive on Arrakis with their soldiers. They are welcomed by the house mentat, Thufir Hawat, who has been leading a group of Atreides soldiers sent previously to prepare the planet for their arrival, including enacting strict security measures. As they exit their transport, they see a large crowd of Fremen, who loudly chant “Lisan al Gaib”. Paul questions his mother on the meaning, and she reveals that it translates to “prophet”, or “messiah”, and means that the Bene Gesserit have been at work, planting the concept of an off-worlder who will one day lead the Fremen. Paul rebukes her, questioning if this means that they have been instilling superstition, but she merely replies that they have been getting things ready for the arrival. House Atreides settle in Arrakeen, the capital of Arrakis built by House Harkonnen. Arrakeen, Hawat notes, lies behind a large, natural wall that protects it from the powerful sandstorms that ravage the surface.

Shortly after her meeting with Paul and Jessica, Mohiam travels to Giedi Prime, the homeworld of House Harkonnen, and explains that the emperor supports their battle to usurp House Atreides from Arrakis, therefore ending the house and taking back control of the planet. Mohiam explains, however, that Jessica is under the protection of the Bene Gesserit, and by extension, Paul too. The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen agrees to spare them reluctantly, but makes it clear after Mohiam leaves that they are not safe from the brutal nature of the desert on Arrakis.

Only days after their arrival at Arrakeen, Leto meets with Stilgar, a representative of the Fremen. Stilgar's manner is gruff and initially seen as insulting to the Duke but Duncan explains that this is the Fremen way of diplomacy. When Stilgar spits toward the Duke, tension in the room runs high until Duncan again explains that it is a gesture of high respect by the Fremen to waste even a single drop of water. Duncan and Leto both return the gesture.

Leto is informed that the spice harvesting equipment left by House Harkonnen is substandard and the majority malfunctions; Leto believes that they have been set up to fail. Nonetheless, Leto, Paul and other figureheads of the house are invited on a tour of the operation in which they are shown an operating spice harvester in the desert by Dr, Liet-Kynes, the judge of change. Kynes explains that worms will always approach a spice harvester, drawn to the rhythmic sounds it emits. Leto himself spots the initial "wormsign", a cloud of sandy dust making it's way to the harvester site. An extraction attempt is made, but the anchoring gear on the carryall fails and the harvester cannot be lifted to safety. Leto orders that the crew of 21 aboard be saved by transferring to Leto's small squadron of ornithopters. Further problems arise when Paul nearly falls victim to the sandworm but finds his visions are intensified following the inhalation of the product in the spice bed. Halleck is barely able to guide Paul to safety aboard his father's 'thopter and he and Paul see firsthand the power of a sandworm, which swallows the huge machine whole.

House Atreides face further dangers in Arrakeen, when an attempt is made on Paul’s life. The attempt fails, but Leto puts the guards on high-alert. Only days later, the traitor is revealed to be Yueh. Yueh deactivates the shields protecting Arrakeen and disables Atreides’ communications, allowing a coalition of Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops to invade the city. Thousands of Atreides soldiers are killed and the Atreides stronghold falls. Yueh is able to incapacitate Leto, and explains that Baron Vladimir — the ruler of House Harkonnen — has taken his wife and he has made a bargain, trading the Duke’s life to free his wife who is the Baron's prisoner. Yueh also promises he will help save Paul and Jessica. The doctor replaces one of Leto’s teeth with a poison replica, citing that he must break the tooth when close enough to the Baron and release a deadly vapor. It will kill the Duke but should also kill the Baron.

During the invasion, Jessica and Paul are drugged (by Yueh) and taken hostage by Harkonnen soldiers, who plan to eject them from the ship into the desert. In a desperate attempt to save his mother from being raped by the soldiers, Paul uses the voice of the Bene Gesserit, allowing his mother to be ungagged and command the soldiers to kill one another. Both Jessica and Paul are able to escape into the desert where they find a survival kit hidden in the 'thopter by Yueh. As the two sleep in the desert, it quickly becomes clear to them that Leto is dead when they find House Atreides signet ring in the kit; as a result, Jessica welcomes Paul as the new Duke of Atreides. During their night in the stiltent Paul is again plagued by visions which are much more intense. He sees the same woman observing him leading an army of troops in a pitched battle. Paul perceives he is fighting a holy war across the universe, waged in his name. His mother is able to calm and comfort him, ending his rants.

Meanwhile, back at Arrakeen, Yueh, despite fulfilling his part of the bargain and delivering the Duke to the Baron, is murdered by the Baron, who remarks that he is reuniting him with his wife in death, just as he promised. Moments later, Leto comes around from the poison dart, and is told by the Baron that Jessica and Paul are now dead. Leto is able to crush the tooth and release the poison. The majority of the court is killed by the vapor but the Baron is able to evade death, having deployed his shield only moments prior. He is later turned over to a group of healers who submerge him in a vat of black and yellow oil. He receives a report from Rabban, who tells the Baron that Paul and Jessica flew into a sandstorm of incredible power and could not have survived.

Alone in the desert after their long night, Jessica and Paul are eventually found by Duncan, who brings the two to an old research station where they meet with Kynes. Kynes explains that the research station was created to bring life and greenery to Arrakis, but after the discovery of spice, plans were cancelled in favor of retaining the desert to continue spice harvesting. Not long after their arrival, however, they are found by Sardaukar troops. Several Fremen are killed during the attack and Duncan also falls as a result, joining his master, Leto in death. Kynes, Paul and Jessica are able to escape the facility, but Kynes, while summoning a sandworm to flee the site, is soon discovered by the troops and is stabbed through the chest. In a desperate attempt to protect the future of House Atreides, Kynes thumps the ground, attracting the sandworm and allowing herself and the troops to be swallowed by the merciless creature.

Aware of the huge financial impacts that the coup has had on House Harkonnen — and the debt owed to the Emperor — Vladimir transfers control of Arrakis back to his nephew, the cruel and sadistic Rabban. He orders Rabban to sell the Harkonnen’s spice reserves and restart production, but not to sell too much as the price of spice would fall.

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Jessica and Paul come face-to-face with a sandworm.

After fleeing the research facility and stealing an ornithopter, Paul and Jessica eventually crash in the desert. Fearing they will be devoured by a sandworm, they scramble to the rocks but Paul finds himself face-to-face with a sandworm. He is surprised, however, when the sandworm merely looks at him instead of attacking. The worm is distracted momentarily by someone activating a thumper nearby. Whilst Paul and Jessica are thankful, Paul uses signs to alert Jessica that they are not alone. They are surrounded seconds later by Fremen. Among them, the Fremen are lead by Stilgar, but Paul finds himself mesmerized by Chani, the woman from his dreams.

Stilgar's tribe are reluctant to allow Paul and Jessica refuge, but eventually decide to do so when Jessica shows the two are good fighters. Tensions arise, however, when a member of the tribe, Jamis, protests against their recruitment and challenges Jessica to a duel. Given Jessica is a woman, she is unable to fight and Paul is forced to represent her. Despite being a skilled fighter, Jamis is bested by Paul and quickly killed. Jessica is reluctant in joining the Fremen, but Paul insists, and the two join the Fremen on their journey to the stronghold with the aim of bringing peace to Arrakis. As they begin their trek across the desert, Paul and Jessica see a Fremen riding a large sandworm. Paul remarks "desert power", echoing his father's plan. Chani tells him "This is only the beginning."

Cast[]

Development and production[]

Legendary Entertainment acquired the rights to make a Dune film in November 2016.[5] Filming began in March 2019.[6] It was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, and in Jordan.[7]

Despite wrapping production in 2019, it was confirmed that several scenes would be reshot in Budapest ahead of the December 18th, 2020 release date.[8] Scenes reshot are reported to include additional cinematic footage and extra photo shoots; further reshoots places Dune in post-production for over a year.

Music[]

The film score for Dune was composed by Hans Zimmer. Three soundtrack albums were released throughout September and October 2021, to coincide with the release of the film: Dune (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), The Dune Sketchbook, The Art and Soul of Dune

Release[]

Dune had its world premiere on Friday, September 3, 2021 at the Venice Film Festival, where it received an eight minute standing ovation.[9]

It was released on October 22, 2021 in the United States,[1] and was released as early as September 15, 2021 in some European countries.[10] The film will also be released in 3D and Imax.[1]

The film had notable release delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was initially scheduled for release in theaters on December 18, 2020.[2] It was delayed to October 1, 2021,[11] and later moved to October 22, 2021.[1]

Gallery[]

Images[]

Videos[]

Trailers[]

Official trailers and trailer music of the 2021 film adaptation.

Behind the scenes[]

Videos from the development and filming of the 2021 film adaptation.

Promotional events[]

Videos from promotional events for the 2021 film adaptation.

Awards[]

Videos of film awards won by the 2021 film adaptation.

External links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Deadline: Warner Bros Shuffles Fall Release Deck With ‘Dune’, ‘Cry Macho’ & ‘The Many Saints Of Newark’ by Anthony D'Alessandro. June 25, 2021.
  2. 2.0 2.1 VanityFair: A First Look at Timothée Chalamet in Dune. April 13, 2020,
  3. Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Gets November 2020 Release Date
  4. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190318005491/en
  5. Press Release from Legendary Entertainment: Legendary Entertainment Acquires Rights to Frank Herbert's Classic Sci-Fi Novel Dune. November 2016.
  6. Press Release from Legendary Entertainment: Dune - Start of Production. March 18, 2019.
  7. WarnerBros: Dune
  8. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dune-reshoots-confirmed-rebecca-ferguson/
  9. The Hollywood Reporter: Venice: ‘Dune’ Met With 8-Minute Standing Ovation at World Premiere by Patrick Brzeski. September 3, 2021.
  10. DuneMovie.com: World Premieres 2021, retrieved September 14, 2021. The film is releasing on September 15, 2021 in Belgium, France, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
  11. Collider: Exclusive: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ Movie Delayed Until Late 2021 by Jeff Sneider. October 5, 2020.
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