Dune Author’s Son Calls New Adaptation the “Definitive” Version

In the decades since Frank Herbert’s Dune was first unveiled to sci-fi fans, various filmmakers have attempted to bring the film to life, either as films or as miniseries, though Herbert’s son Brian, who has penned a number of novels for the franchise, claims that the upcoming adaptation from director Denis Villeneuve is the “definitive” take on the source material. The dense and sprawling nature of the series brings with it limitless potential for live-action adaptations, though the complex narratives are also what sometimes cause adaptations to fall short of expectations, with Brian Herbert‘s endorsement of the upcoming film sure to alleviate some fans’ anxieties.

“I was very impressed by the trailer, and I was thrilled to actually be on the movie set in Budapest last year, where my wife and I watched the filming of several scenes,” Herbert shared with Inverse about the new film. “This is a really big movie, a major project that will forever be considered the definitive film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel. Fans are going to love this movie. Denis Villeneuve is the perfect director to do 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.

Arguably the most well-known adaptation of the material came in 1984 from director David Lynch, though that film was a relative disappointment, both financially and critically. Despite Lynch being an ambitious filmmaker, the studio famously interfered with his vision for the film, forcing him to make a number of compromises with the adaptation.

Prior to Lynch, filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky had spent years working on an adaptation of the material in the mid-’70s, only for budgetary limitations to prevent that project from moving forward. While Brian Herbert praised the trailer, Jodorowsky was disappointed with Villeneuve’s take on the world.

“I wish his Dune would be a great success, because Denis Villeneuve is a nice director, about whom I have been told a lot of good things,” Jodorowsky shared with Le Point, translated from French. “I saw the trailer. It’s very well done. We can see that it is industrial cinema, that there is a lot of money, and that it was very expensive. But if it was very expensive, it must pay in proportion. And that is the problem: there is no surprises. The form is identical to what is done everywhere, the lighting, the acting, everything is predictable.”

He added, “Industrial cinema is incompatible with auteur cinema. For the former, money before, for the second, it’s the opposite, whatever the quality of a director, whether my friend Nicolas Winding Refn or Denis Villeneuve. Industrial cinema promotes entertainment, it is a show that is not intended to change humanity or society. “

The new Dune hits theaters and HBO Max on October 1, 2021.

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