With new stills surfacing on the internet this week for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science-fiction epic, I figured a look back at the multiple attempts to do the book justice on the big (and small) screen was in order.
The Novel
What is Dune, you ask? Here’s a brief overview for the uninitiated. Dune was published in 1965 and was the first in a series of six science fiction novels written by author Frank Herbert. The story of Dune centers around the desert planet Arrakis, home to the highly sought-after spice mélange, a consciousness expanding substance that allows users brief glimpses of the future and absolutely necessary for the pilots of vehicles capable of lightspeed travel. Dune’s protagonist is the young noble Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto Atreides and Lady Jessica of the Bene Gesserit (an all-female order of psychic mystics). The novel and its two sequels follow the life of Paul as he attempts to survive on the harsh planet of Arrakis, while dodging gargantuan sandworms and frequent attempts on his life by a rival noble family, House Harkonnen.
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