I'll be honest: when I'm told that there's a new adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel DUNE in the works, that doesn't stir up much excitement for me. I have no connection to the source material, have never been able to get into David Lynch's adaptation from 1984, and have only watched a little bit of the 2000 mini-series. While I'm curious about it, DUNE isn't a major draw for me… But director Denis Villeneuve is doing a great job getting potential audience members like me interested in his adaptation of Herbert's story by assembling an impressive cast to bring it to life.
Scripted by Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, and Villeneuve himself, DUNE is set to star Timothee Chalamet as
Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, jurisdiction over Arrakis is contested among competing noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship with nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s reign.
Also in the cast are Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as his father Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgard as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Harkonnen's brutish nephew, Charlotte Rampling as the emperor's truthsayer Reverend Mother Mohiam, Javier Bardem as helpful tribe leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as troubadour-swordsman Gurney Halleck, and Zendaya as Chani Kynes, "the girl of Paul's dreams".
Now we have another cool addition to the cast: AQUAMAN himself, Jason Momoa, is in negotiations to play a character named Duncan Idaho, "a swordmaster in the house of Atreides who is the right-hand man to Paul's father".
I don't know how Villeneuve's DUNE will turn out, but I am certainly interested in seeing a movie that features Jason Momoa as a swordmaster named Duncan Idaho.
DUNE will be going into production soon, with filming to take place in Budapest and Jordan. Villeneuve is producing the project with Mary Parent and Cale Boyter. Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull, and Kim Herbert are executive producing, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant.
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