Legendary and Warner Bros. is banking that their upcoming Dune film will help launch a brand new sci-fi franchise based on the six novels by author Frank Herbert. The first installment is part one of two, with the first novel being split into two movies and the second film Dune: Part Two is in early development from screenwriter Jon Spaihts.
Some new comments might give audiences some more relatable context to the sprawling sci-fi fantasy epic along with the perspective of Timothee Chalamet’s lead character Paul Atreides.
Speaking with Empire, director Villeneuve has compared Paul Atreides’ family obligations to Michael Corleone from Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece The Godfather.
VILLENEUVE: “Paul has been raised in a very strict environment with a lot of training because he’s the son of a Duke and one day… he’s training to be the Duke. But as much as he’s been prepared and trained for that role, is it really what he dreams to be? That’s the contradiction of that character. It’s like Michael Corleone in The Godfather – it’s someone that has a very tragic fate and he will become something that he was not wishing to become.”
“His survival depends on being able to make the right decisions and adapt to different dangerous situations. It’s a very beautiful story about someone that becomes empowered. Like any young adult, he is looking for his identity and trying to understand his place in the world, and he will have to do things that none of his ancestors were able to do in order to survive. He has a beautiful quality of being curious about other people, of having empathy, something that will attract him towards other cultures, and that’s what will save his life.”
Two new images were also released by Empire and Legendary.
DUNE – 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.
Dune is currently set for release on December 18th, but with the current pandemic making things unpredictable seeing it keep that spot isn’t a sure bet.
