Dune Cinematographer Compares Film to Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Denis Villeneuve's Dune reboot is easily one of the most highly-anticipated films still scheduled to come out this year (although that feels a bit up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The film is set to adapt half of Frank Herbert's iconic fantasy novel for a whole new generation, with the help of a star-studded ensemble working in front of and behind the screen. Among those is the film's director of photography, Greg Fraser, whose filmography also includes projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Mandalorian. As Fraser recently explained to Collider, Dune's version of science fiction unfolded in a wildly different way compared to his work in the Star Wars universe.

"It was quite fun because I had to forget a lot of Star Wars when I was making Dune," Fraser explained. "It wasn't hard, though. Denis and I spoke clearly about how the film should look and should feel, and the formats and this and that, so it was not hard to swerve and change lanes. There were some similarities like the deserts. I mean listen, ultimately I'm positive George Lucas was inspired by Dune when he made Star Wars. I don't know if that's sacrilegious to talk about, but there are a lot of similarities in some areas, so you could tell he was definitely influenced by that. So I had to be careful doing both [Dune and The Mandalorian] and not to repeat myself. Also not just for the sake of the movie, but for fun. I hate to do the same thing twice."

If the first-look photos of Dune are any indication, it definitely seems like the film will be forging a completely different visual aesthetic from Star Wars, even as they both are set in desert-like settings.

The cast of Dune includes Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Harkonnen, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, and Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam.

You can check out the official description for Dune below!

"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 scheduled to open in theaters on December 18th.