It’s been a pretty depressing few weeks with the lack of theatrical releases. As the boredom starts to kick in, Vanity Fair has given us all something to look forward to with a special on Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’.
The feature includes 9 first look images of many of the main characters as well as a few tidbits of information of what to expect from the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic novel.
The story follows Paul whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families.
When the Atreides are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature as a betrayed Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control of Arrakis.
In the first of two film’s underway for ‘Dune,’ Timothee Chalamet takes the lead as Paul,
Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Raban, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.
Also in news – Lisa Kudrow and Steve Carell star in first look images from Netflix’s ‘Space Force’
Ferguson on the role of Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica said;
“She’s a mother, she’s a concubine, she’s a soldier. Denis was very respectful of Frank’s work in the book, [but] the quality of the arcs for much of the women have been brought up to a new level. There were some shifts he did, and they are beautifully portrayed now.”
On Skarsgard’s Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Villeneuve added;
“As much as I deeply love the book, I felt that the baron was flirting very often with caricature, and I tried to bring him a bit more dimension. That’s why I brought in Stellan. Stellan has something in the eyes. You feel that there’s someone thinking, thinking, thinking – that has tension and is calculating inside, deep in the eyes. I can testify, it can be quite frightening.”
The epic tale sure wouldn’t have been easy for Villeneuve to adapt, he went on to confirm that this world was a “complex” to get his head around. More importantly, it has that all-important message that we need to do something to save our planet more now than ever.
“No matter what you believe, Earth is changing, and we will have to adapt. That’s why I think that Dune, this book, was written in the 20th century. It was a distant portrait of the reality of the oil and the capitalism and the exploitation – the overexploitation – of Earth. Today, things are just worse. It’s a coming-of-age story, but also a call for action for the youth.”
Despite our current isolation way of life, the film is still slated to hit cinemas in December.
