Dune

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 Entertainment 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 at locations including Budapest, Jordan, Norway, and Abu Dhabi.

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; it was then released in United States theaters and streaming on HBO Max on October 22. Dune was a box office success, earning $402 million on a $165 million budget. It was well received by critics and audiences, with praise for Villeneuve’s direction, screenplay, the visual effects, ambition, costume design, Hans Zimmer’s musical score, cinematography, and faithfulness to the source material. The film won six awards at the 94th Academy Awards and was nominated in four other categories, including Best Picture, in addition to receiving numerous other accolades. A sequel, Dune: Part Two, is set for release on March 1, 2024.

Leto’s consort, Lady Jessica, is an acolyte of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive sisterhood whose members possess advanced physical and mental abilities. As part of their centuries-long breeding program, they instructed her to bear a daughter whose son would become the Kwisatz Haderach, a Bene Gesserit and messianic superbeing with the clairvoyance necessary to guide humanity to a better future. She disobeyed and bore a son, Paul, who is trained by Leto’s aides, Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, the Suk doctor Wellington Yueh, and the Mentat Thufir Hawat; Jessica teaches him Bene Gesserit disciplines. Paul confides in Jessica and Duncan of his troubling visions of the future. The Reverend Mother and Imperial Truthsayer Gaius Helen Mohiam visits Caladan and subjects him to a death-alternative Gom jabbar test to assess his humanity and impulse control, which he passes. At a secret meeting on Giedi Prime, Mohiam insists Baron Harkonnen spare Paul and Jessica in his coup, to which he duplicitously agrees.

House Atreides arrives at Arrakeen, the fortress stronghold on Arrakis. Duncan’s advance party has made contact with the Fremen. The natives revere Paul and Jessica, which Jessica explains is due to the Bene Gesserit sowing beliefs on Arrakis centuries earlier. Leto negotiates with Fremen chieftain, Stilgar, and meets the Imperial Judge of the Change, Dr. Kynes, a planetologist who lives among the Fremen. Kynes briefs them on the dangers of spice harvesting, and the giant sandworms which travel under the desert and make the use of protective Holtzman shields unwise. During a flight, they dramatically rescue a stranded spice-harvesting crew from a sandworm, and Paul’s exposure to the spice triggers intense premonitions.

An attempt to assassinate Paul with a hunter-seeker fails. Yueh betrays the Atreides and disables Arrakeen’s shields, allowing the Harkonnens and Sardaukar to invade. He incapacitates Leto, planning to exchange him for his wife, who is the Baron’s prisoner. Yueh replaces one of Leto’s teeth with a poison gas capsule with which the Duke can assassinate the Baron. After the Baron double-crosses and murders Yueh, Leto releases the gas, killing himself and the Baron’s Mentat, Piter De Vries, but the Baron survives. Though the Baron has arranged to have Paul and Jessica dropped deep in the desert to die, a compassionate Yueh has left them with stillsuits and other survival supplies. Jessica uses a Bene Gesserit technique called “the Voice” to overpower and kill their captors. Paul and Jessica journey overnight in the desert where Paul, surrounded by spice, has visions of a bloody “holy war” fought across the universe in his name.

Baron Harkonnen gives command of the conquered Arrakis to his nephew, Rabban, and orders him to restart spice production to recoup the cost of the invasion. Paul and Jessica are found by Duncan and Kynes, and Paul discloses his plan to marry one of Shaddam’s daughters to avert the civil war that would ensue from news of the Emperor’s treachery. They are found by the Sardaukar but Duncan sacrifices himself to enable Paul and Jessica to escape. Kynes is mortally wounded by Sardaukar but summons a sandworm that devours them all. In the deep desert, Paul and Jessica encounter Stilgar’s tribe, including Chani, the girl in Paul’s visions. Fremen warrior Jamis opposes Stilgar’s lenience to them and challenges Paul to a ritual duel to the death, which Paul wins. Against Jessica’s wishes, Paul joins the Fremen to fulfill his father’s goal of bringing peace to Arrakis.