The first look at Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Dune has caused controversy among some fans, especially because the images don't look "fun". In of legendary science-fiction, Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic novel Dune is one of the genre's undisputed masterpieces. Set in a distant future featuring warring noble families to the backdrop of interstellar trade and society, Dune is a multi-layered and deeply complex story that weaves together politics, religion, technology, war, and the mystic.
Despite having been adapted for film already, Arrival director Denis Villeneuve at the helm. Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have gone all out with this new adaptation, with an epic ensemble cast that includes Timothée Chalamet in the lead role as Paul Atreides, alongside Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, Jason Momoa, and many more. It’s no wonder that Dune is one of 2020’s most anticipated films, but the very first glimpse of the movie has left some fans feeling underwhelmed.
In exclusive Javier Bardem as Stilgar of the Fremen tribe. Some people seemed disappointed by what they saw, deeming the muted color palette and more realist-focused style to be an ill fit for Herbert's creation. The costuming is very simple and militaristic in style, while the landscapes, many of which were shot in southern Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are reminiscent of the sand worlds of Star Wars. If fans were expecting an altogether more fantastical glimpse into this new Dune then they would have inevitably been disappointed. A major complaint made by many was that this Dune didn’t seem all that fun, but does it need to and is it even supposed to be fun?
First, it’s worth noting that this film isn’t scheduled for release until December, so the tiny glimpses of VFX seen in these first look images of Dune are representative of only a sliver of the work done on the movie so far. For anyone hoping to see one of the sandworms of Arrakis in this first look, they will have to wait until the first trailer at the very least.
David Lynch’s Dune is undoubtedly a more fantastical approach to the material than it seems like Villeneuve’s approach will be. Stylistically speaking, they are polar opposites as film-makers on an aesthetic level. Just compare the stark minimalism of Arrival to the sinister surrealism of Mulholland Drive. While his take on Dune is mostly incomprehensible and struggles to condense all that plot into one movie, he does succeed at creating a world that feels utterly alien to ours. That was a very Lynchian move to make and one that felt in step with sci-fi of the time. It’s also worth ing that prior to Lynch directing the film, Alejandro Jodorowsky famously spent years trying to get his version off the ground, which would have been even more hallucinogenic and less rooted in reality.
Dune is fantastical in places (most obviously with the sandworms) but it endures as a sci-fi classic because of Herbert's savvy rejection of hard genre elements. He wanted to eschew futuristic technology and the like in favor of grounded and deeply human politics, albeit on a grander scale than we currently have. Its biggest influences are classic stories of the past, such as Villeneuve keeping Dune more grounded - or, at least the small bits we get to see now - makes sense. Some fans may crave the more over-the-top moments witnessed in Lynch’s film and Jodorowsky’s storyboards – and we may still get aspects of that in the finished product – but Dune was always a story that required more than “fun” at its heart.
