Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE Is Said to “Honor Everything” About the Novel
Art By Matt Griffin
Director Denis Villeneuve has wowed audiences and critics with his films Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. Now he is currently working on his film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel Dune, and we couldn’t be more excited about it!
During a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Villeneuve’s frequent collaborator David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049), talks about this new adaptation of Dune and says that will “honor everything” that Herbert loaded into his story:
“I can’t really discuss much about the script or the plot itself, but I can just tell you that that old phrase ‘true to the spirit’ or ‘honoring the spirit of’ [applies]. Quite honestly I haven’t even seen the most recent [version] of the script, but in the way Denis has talked about the film and what I’ve seen, it’s absolutely true to and in honor of everything that Frank put into the novel…[Denis is] just so fearless, man. He makes choices and then he goes into the places that we need right now as audiences.”
That’s exciting to hear. Villeneuve will have a lot more resources to work with than David Lynch did with his adaptation in 1984. There’s really no limitations now and Villeneuve can bring this story to life properly and in the best way possible. On top of that, the director has a passion for the source material, so of course he’s going to want to honor everything that’s in that book!
Dastmalchian went on to say that we will see the “level of maturity and complexity in Herbert’s writing” reflected in Villeneuve’s film. He then went on to talk about the filmmaker saying:
“I’m so grateful and excited to be a part of Denis’ vision. I think that he is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time and any time, and I believe what he’s going to do here, it’s just going to take people to a whole other place. When you think about ‘Arrival’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ those are the two science fiction films that he’s crafted, you see his gift for telling stories that are visually stunning, but that are also rooted in really complex ideas and really fascinating characters.”
The film’s incredible cast also includes Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Harkonnen, Zendeya as Chani, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Chang Chen as Dr. Yueh, and Dave Bautista as the Baron’s nephew Rabban.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
Set on the planet Arrakis, we find ourselves exploring the story of two warring galactic royal families House Atreides and House Harkonnen. When Duke Leto Atreides is assassinated, his son Paul and wife Lady Jessica escape only to be adopted by the Fremen, who becomes Paul’s personal army against the Harkonnen as he develops powers from the spice, a substance that extends life and powers interstellar travel. A tangled web of royal intrigue is revealed with the Emperor and other cosmic powers pulling the strings while attempting to erase house Atreides.
Dune is set for release on November 20th, 2020.