Dune Dreams

Dune (titled on-screen as Dune: Part One) is a 2021 American epic space opera film co-produced and directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth. It is the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert and the first installment in Villeneuve's Dune film trilogy. The cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. Set in the distant future, the film follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet) as his family, the aristocratic House Atreides, is thrust into a war for the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis. The film is the third adaptation of Dune, following David Lynch's 1984 film and John Harrison's 2000 television miniseries. After an unsuccessful attempt by Paramount Pictures to produce a new adaptation, Legendary Pictures acquired the Dune film and television rights in 2016, with Villeneuve signing on as director in February 2017. Production contracts were secured only for the first film, relying on its success before a sequel would be produced. Principal photography took place from March to July 2019 in Hungary, Jordan, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, and other locations. Dune was scheduled for a late 2020 release, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2021, before its international release on September 15, 2021; it was then released in United States theaters and via streaming on HBO Max on October 22, 2021. Dune grossed $411 million on a $165 million budget and received positive reviews from critics and audiences. It won six awards at the 94th Academy Awards and was nominated in four other categories, in addition to receiving numerous other accolades. A sequel, Dune: Part Two, was released on March 1, 2024, covering the novel's second half, and another sequel, Dune: Part Three, based on Herbert's 1969 novel Dune Messiah, is scheduled to be released on December 18, 2026.