Read This First Before Watching Dune's New Version On October 13

Dune is one of the most beloved novels in the world, but also one of the most condemned projects when it comes to live-action adaptations. However, a new version of Dune will finally be released in cinemas in the country. With that in mind, here’s everything we know so far about the new Dune. And to get you started, we’ve also included the official synopsis of the film:

“[Dune adalah] a mystical and emotional hero’s journey, which tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and talented young man born into a destiny great beyond his comprehension, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and people. When the forces of evil 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 fears will survive.”

About what Dune?

Dune by the late Frank Herbert is perhaps the most important and influential science fiction novel ever written. The 1965 novel is set in the distant future, where selected noble houses from different planets owe their allegiance to the powerful Emperor. Dune centers on a young man named Paul Atreides, whose family takes over the management of the desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Arrakis is the only source of the melange spice, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, which makes hyperspace travel possible, among many other things. Dune is a very complex and sprawling story involving politics, religion, a hostile manor house, love, and betrayal.

The story of the previous Dune adaptation

The original book remains the world’s best-selling science fiction novel, and spawned five more sequels from the original author. His influence was far-reaching; the concept of Dune exists throughout the Star Wars saga, for example. An argument could also be made that Game of Thrones is a fantasy version of Dune, with a feuding manor house and its ultimate messiah figure. But Dune’s own fate as a live-action IP has, so far, been largely a string of disappointments.

Renowned Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to create a lavish Dune production in the early 70s, which would have involved the participation of artists such as HR Giger. Orson Welles and Salvador Dali agreed to star, and Pink Floyd will even cover the soundtrack. Project Dune Alejandro Jodorowsky had a vision that ended up being too big for a Hollywood where sci-fi was still considered a risky and unprofitable genre. In 2014, a stunning documentary called Jodorowsky’s Dune, detailing a film that never existed, was released to great acclaim.

After the effort was initiated and subsequently abandoned by Ridley Scott, surrealist director David Lynch was hired by producer Dino De Laurentiis to helm the adaptation in the early ’80s. Writer Frank Herbert loved the finished product, but critics railed against the film after its 1984 release, and it fell through.

Dune received a new adaptation in 2000, this time for TV. The Syfy Channel (then known as the Sci-Fi Channel) produced a six-part mini-series called Frank Herbert’s Dune, which was a huge enough rating success to spawn a sequel mini-series combining elements of Herbert’s second and third novels. The ratings prove there is an audience for this property, and in recent years, there have been further attempts to revive it on the big screen.

Who made a new version of Dune?

In November 2016, acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve announced that Dune would be his follow-up project to Blade Runner 2049. Screenwriters Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts picked up the script, based on Herbert’s 1965 classic novel. Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, who has written several Dune sequels himself, is also an executive producer. Sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson also serves as a creative consultant. Greig Fraser of Rogue One is the director of photography on the film, with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer creating the film’s score. Villeneuve also returns to work with several Blade Runner 2049 collaborators, including editor Joe Walker and visual effects supervisors Paul Lambert and Gerd Nefze. Costume designers Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan also signed, as did production designer Patrice Vermette. Principal photography at Dune began on March 18, 2019.

Will this be a movie or two?

Denis Villeneuve confirmed to Vanity Fair that yes, Dune will be split into two films. Villeneuve said, “I do not agree to make an adaptation of this book with a single film. This world is too complex. This is a world that takes its power to detail.” And if it’s a success, after that, there are five other books in the saga (and that’s not even including a Brian Herbert sequel).

Who starred in Dune?