How do you go about adapting Dune? That's a question many studios and filmmakers have struggled to answer, including legendary director David Lynch. And for cause. At first glance, the plot of Frank Herbert's iconic sci-fi novel seems simple: it's a coming-of-age story centering on Paul Atreides, a young man destined to change the fate of the galaxy. It is quite the opposite. With a large cast of intriguing characters, a dense narrative, and themes like environmentalism, politics, gender dynamics, and religion, Dune is a convoluted story that many have been unable to do justice to. Now, with Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve at the helm, the latest Dune film adaptation has the potential to be worthy of Herbert's founding novel. Still, the question remains: where to start making a film based on this iconic literary work? “Every movie I've made has had its challenges,” explains Villeneuve. “But the unique thing about Dune was that every scene was demanding. It is by far the most complex film I have ever made. Ahead of its October 21 release, TechRadar spoke with Villeneuve to discuss the challenge of adapting Dune. We're talking about bringing the novel's iconic sandworms to life, how Villeneuve's childhood influenced the film's aesthetic, and why it was the most complicated production of his career.
Fear is the murderer of mind
(Image credit: Warner Bros.) Set in the distant future, Dune follows Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and House Atreides as they take control of Arrakis, an unwelcoming desert planet, at the behest of the Galactic Emperor. Arrakis is the universe's only source of "spice", a priceless substance that is necessary for interstellar travel and that grants superhuman abilities to those who use it. Unsurprisingly, it isn't long before House Atreides finds itself fighting on multiple fronts. Rivals to House Harkonnen aspire to take control of Arrakis' "spice" mining. Meanwhile, the planet's Fremen population and the gigantic sandworms that swim in the dunes pose a considerable threat to non-natives of Arrakis. What follows is a sci-fi saga that blends rich and complex characters with themed explorations of nature, empowering women, and celebrating Middle Eastern history. It is this powerful mix of ideas that fascinates Villeneuve when he discovers Herbert's novel as a teenager. A die-hard Dune fan, Villeneuve didn't need a second invite when he was approached by Warner Bros. about the prospect of making a new Dune movie. Confirmed his participation in February 2017, Villeneuve begins the process of making his dream project come true. Demanding and formidable as he initially appeared, the visionary director had two main advantages. He not only wanted to capture the beauty of nature; I wanted to capture its power Denis Villeneuve, director of Dunes In the first, Villeneuve hired several of his department heads from Blade Runner 2049, meetings which, given his existing working relationship with Villeneuve, got the pre-production phase off to a good start. of Dune. The second, meanwhile, involved Villeneuve recalling the designs for the many locations, characters, and vehicles in Dune that he had envisioned nearly 40 years earlier. “I fed the scenario with so many images that came to mind when I first read the book,” explains Villeneuve. “When I was storyboarding, I was trying to go back to the origins of these images and capture the emotions that I was having. After sketching the characters, vehicles and architecture, Patrick Vermette took this visual language and developed it to create the world you see.
A force of nature
(Image credit: Warner Bros.) With the script completed and the behind-the-scenes cast and crew in place in January 2019, Dune's exciting four-month shoot began in March. Places like Norway, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates were chosen as replacements for Caladan (House Atreides' homeworld), Giedi Prime (House Harkonnen), and Arrakis respectively. Filming in real settings was vital for Dune to capture one of the fundamental pillars of Herbert's novel: namely, the beauty and ferocity of the natural world. “Greg Fraser was essential to this project,” says Villeneuve. “Greg has an ability to play with natural light that I've rarely seen in other people's work. I wanted the film footage to look as realistic as possible and that the audience felt somewhat familiar with the setting. They didn't just want to capture the beauty of nature; they wanted to capture its power. With Arrakis as the primary location of the story, Villeneuve and Fraser wanted to create a distinct atmosphere and aesthetic for scenes set on the hostile planet.Handheld IMAX cameras were used for wide shots of the desert, as well as visions of Paul des Fremen, to distinguish Arrakis from other environments.In contrast, images based on Caladan and Giedi Prime were recorded in a relationship aspect ratio of 2,35:1.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.) The IMAX filming also provided an insight into the size of the massive sand worms on Arrakis. Described as beasts up to 450 meters long in the novel, Dune's iconic creatures pose a major threat to the planet's human population and "spice" mining. Taking inspiration from John Schoenherr's original artwork, Dune's lead creative team opted for a design that honors the original material while feeling modern in style. Despite their fantastic size, Villeneuve wanted the sandworms to be grounded in realism, and that involved researching various forms of invertebrates to learn about their movements and mannerisms. “We spent months creating a design that would match Frank Herbert's description and be in the spirit of the book,” Villeneuve says. “But then everything had to make sense from a scientific point of view. The way it moves, feeds, attacks, evolves, changes the landscape and survives in this harsh environment has to be realistic. It's up to visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert and animation studio Double Negative to bring the sandworms to life. In total, it took almost two years to complete the design and animation of the sandworms. As spectacular and terrifying as they sound, Villeneuve also credits his actors for helping to express the fear they would arouse if they accused you. “This was probably the most difficult VFX on the film,” Villeneuve adds. “But even if you have the best visual effects in the world, if acting is bad, the world won't exist. I give a lot of credit to Timothy and Rebecca Ferguson because, at their eyes, they make me believe that's what they were facing.
quicksand
(Image credit: Warner Bros.) A Dune-scale movie is not without its production issues. The larger setting of the film, where the forces of House Harkonnen and the Sardaukar Emperor attack House Atreides, was highly technically challenging, with many small-scale skirmishes taking place in the context of the main battle. Animating the movements of the sandworms through the desert, as if they were swimming in water, was not easy either. Villeneuve, however, points out that filming in the Wadi Rum region of Jordan is the most exhausting aspect of the entire production. The cast and crew spent a month filming various scenes, including aerial shots and the sequence in which Paul de Chalament and Lady Jessica de Ferguson are chased by a sandworm in the third act. With a crew of 800 and limited time to complete the shoot, Villeneuve insists that filming this part of the production has been the most grueling experience of his career thus far. “I knew that to meet the time and the budget I had to adapt everything to those days,” he says. “We toured non-stop for a whole month and I've never done that in my life. It was physically difficult and every scene was difficult to shoot. Currently, the limitations and stresses of Villeneuve's most demanding project appear to be paying off. Prior to its North American release, Dune amassed €129 million at the international box office and is expected to earn an additional €40 million theatrically in the US and Canada based on box office projections. For a film developed on a budget of €165 million, Dune is expected to net a profit for Warner Bros. and legendary entertainment. And that's even in the face of the pandemic and Dune's simultaneous release on HBO Max, both of which are sure to dent its box office receipts. Still, Villeneuve knows nothing about the possibility of making Dune Part 2. As visually stunning and wonderfully ambitious as Dune is, his story seems incomplete. Thus, the Dune cast and crew are likely relying on Dune's profitability to illuminate a sequel. It seems more likely now, with WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff telling Deadline that "if you watch the movie, you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer." If for some reason a sequel doesn't come, it would be disappointing if Villeneuve didn't fully realize his vision of his Dune movie duology. For the quality of Dune Part 1, he deserves to finish what he started. It would be worth these difficult days in the Jordanian desert. But, unless viewers are drawn to see Dune in theaters, the choice may be out. And that would be a real shame. Dune is now available in theaters around the world, as well as on HBO Max in select countries.