Dune

Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert in 1965. Its success was resounding; in 1966 he won the Hugo Prize and in 1965 the first edition of the Nebula Prize for the best science fiction novel. Published in Spanish by the Acervo editorial in 1975, it opened one of the most important sagas of fantastic and science fiction literature. In 2007, it registered sales of more than 12 million copies, making it the best-selling science fiction novel to date.

Later, the author would continue the saga with The Messiah of Dune (1969) and concluded it with Hijos de Dune (1976), which closed the planned trilogy. The success of the trilogy, however, led him to write a fourth book later, God Emperor of Dune (1981), with which he hoped to close the (at that time) tetralogy. Years later he would resume the saga with the fifth and sixth volumes Heretics of Dune (1984) and Dune Chapter House (1985), leaving an ending completely open to a new installment.

The success of the novel caused a lot of interest in its transfer to the big screen, a project that after many vicissitudes would be reflected in the film Dune (1984), directed by David Lynch. Years later, in 2000, there would also be a television miniseries inspired by the first novel, titled Dune, which would be followed by another miniseries inspired by the two following novels, titled Children of Dune. In 2021, Denis Villeneuve presented the film Dune: Part 1 at the Venice International Film Festival.

After the death of Frank Herbert, two trilogies have been added to the saga that narrate the background that led to the events of the main saga, Prelude to Dune (1999-2001) and Legends of Dune (2002-2004), written by the author's son, Brian Herbert, in association with science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson, as well as two novels that conclude the original saga, Dune Hunters (2006) and Dune Sandworms (2007).

Plot

Context

Between 1963 and 1964 Frank Herbert wrote a novel, World of Dune, the first part of a planned tetralogy, which he published in chapters in the science fiction magazine Astounding. Although he was not yet a well-known author, the novel was well received by readers and Herbert wrote the sequel to it, The Dune Prophet, publishing it in five installments in the same magazine. These first two stories were brought together in a single volume when the book was published shortly thereafter: Dune reduced the initial tetralogy to a trilogy. Herbert's dedication was:

To the people whose work goes beyond ideas, to the realm of the 'concrete and real materials', to the ecologists of the arid lands, wherever they are, at any time they work, this effort of prediction is dedicated to them with humility and admiration.

The story begins more than 10,000 years in the future, in our galaxy, in a great galactic empire with a feudal structure. The Empire is divided into quasi-fiefs, or planetary lordships, controlled by noble families, known as The Great Houses, who form a grand council, called the Landsraad, and pay tribute to the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, of House Corrino. Another institution is the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, or CHOAM, a universal commercial development corporation controlled by the Emperor and the Great Houses, with the Spacing Guild and Bene Gesserit Brotherhood as non-voting partners.

The key to trade and the empire's stability lies in space travel, a monopoly of the Spacing Guild, whose "Navigators" are mutated humans who use the spice or melange to exercise their prescient powers. That way they can chart a safe course, so they can fold space and instantly travel anywhere in the Galaxy.

The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, a powerful female order whose priority is the preservation and advancement of the human race, also uses the spice. Many secrets hide the Bene Gesserit, also called witches for their mental and physical powers, developed through muscular and nervous conditioning known as Prana-bindu training. All this physical and mental training allows Bene Gesserit acolytes to overcome the agony of the spice, an ordeal in which they ingest a quantity of an illuminating poison that they must internally transform to render it harmless. Survival of this ordeal awakens in the acolyte the Other Memories, the personalities and memories of all her female ancestors. However, they are warned against the place in her consciousness where the memories of her male ancestors are located, known as "the place where we cannot look". From this stems the thousand-year-old secret genetic program of the Bene Gesserit: the search for a male equivalent to a Bene Gesserit, which they call Kwisatz Haderach, "the shortest way." This individual would not only have access to the male line of Other Memories, but would be expected to possess other "mental powers that could bridge space and time." With the Kwisatz Haderach under their control, the Brotherhood hopes they can intervene. more effectively in the course of humanity.

The melange, key to all plans for the control of the Empire, is found alone on a desert planet, an ecosystem hostile to almost all forms of life, Arrakis, also known as Dune. The few and scattered Fremen tribes that inhabit it are dedicated to gathering spice, which is produced as part of the life cycle of sandworms, gigantic animals that control the desert. Fremen culture revolves around the value and conservation of water on their arid planet. In order to prepare the ground for their future Kwisatz Haderach, the Bene Gesserit Missionaria Protectiva, dedicated to religious engineering, has implanted among the Fremen the belief that a savior will come, a Messiah, who will transform their world into a place more hospitable to humans.

Plot

The story itself revolves around the young Paul Atreides, heir to the dukedom of House Atreides. His father, Duke Leto Atreides, is ordered by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV to move, with all of his dukedom, to Arrakis, the only source in the Known Universe of the melange spice. Paul must face treachery from the Emperor, fearing the ascendancy of House Atreides in the Landsraad, and House Harkonnen, enemies of the Atreides since the Battle of Corrin.

In the novel, Paul Atreides has lived his childhood in Caladan with his precious teachers: Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, Thufir Hawat and Doctor Wellington Yueh until he was 15 years old, when the Emperor orders the Atreides to move to oversee the Spice trade in his new fiefdom on Arrakis. But this order is nothing more than a trap concocted by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Emperor Paddishah Shaddam IV to remove the Atreides from the impregnable planet Caladan and subsequently eliminate them from the houses of the Landsraad.

Before leaving, Paul receives a visit from the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, mentor to his mother Dame Jessica Atreides in the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Jessica was a member of the Bene Gesserit Order, and was designated by the Order to become a concubine of Duke Leto Atreides as part of the order's secret genetic program. Due to her sincere love for Duke Leto, she disobeyed the order to conceive a girl to give him an heir, and conceived Paul: by committing this crime Jessica harbored the hope, perhaps not very improbable after all, of conceiving the Duke. Kwisatz Haderach, the Bene Gesserit male his Brotherhood had longed for, the one who could bridge space and time.

The Atreides are suspicious of the Emperor's ploy, and are able to neutralize Harkonnen traps and sabotage while attempting to establish ties of trust with the local Fremen population. Ultimately, they succumb to the devastating attack of the Harkonnens, with Imperial Sardaukar troops disguised as Harkonnens and aided by a traitor, Doctor Suk Wellington Yueh. Duke Leto captured, he dies in a failed attempt to assassinate Baron Harkonnen. Only Paul and Jessica can escape the massacre, heading into the desert. There they are sheltered by the Fremen, a people of fierce warriors who ride sand worms. Due to the religious manipulations of the Bene Gesserit Missionaria Protectiva, Paul is seen by the Fremen as the Messiah who will guide his people in transforming Arrakis into a less hostile ecosystem. Accepted among the Fremen Paul adopts the Fremen name of Muad'Dib and meets Chani, charged with protecting him and teaching him Fremen customs. Love will arise between the couple, and Chani will be his partner from then on.

Shortly after being accepted into the Fremen, Jessica is told to become the Reverend Mother of the Fremen. For this, she must pass the Agony of the spice, a ritual trance that includes the ingestion of an illuminating poison, the Water of Life, and its internal transformation into a harmless drug. Jessica is pregnant with a girl, Alia, and during the Agony they both become Reverend Mothers. In time, Paul becomes the leader of the Fremen in his own right, leading them in a revolution against the Harkonnens and the Emperor, sabotaging spice production, while his prescient powers increase by the day. But it's not enough: Paul must find out if he is truly the Kwisatz Haderach, and decides to go through the Spice Agony to confirm it. This leads him to drink the Water of Life, falling into a comatose trance for three weeks.

Awakening as the Kwisatz Haderach, Muad'Dib assumes his messianic role as the Mahdi of the Fremen, leading them to engage in one last epic battle against the Emperor and the Baron. After the triumphant revolt, and the death of Baron Harkonnen at the hands of his sister Alia, Paul Muad'Dib forces the Emperor to consent to his marriage with his eldest daughter Irulan Corrino and to retire to Salusa Secundus, thus ascending the imperial throne, from where will unleash a Jihad across the Universe.

Characters

The main characters are listed below by group or alliance. These alliances may change throughout the novel series, or be revealed differently.

Atreides House

The red falcon, emblem of the Atreides.

The House Atreides is one of the Great Houses of the Empire of the Known Universe. Its members have a main role throughout the entire saga. It is suggested in the novel that the roots of the Atreides line are in the mythological Greek house of the Atreus. In Homer's Iliad, the brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus are called the Atreides, or sons of Atreus. The first Atreides in the saga chronology is Vorian Atreides, human son of the cymek Agamemnon who joins the League of Nobles in Brian Herbert's Legends of Dune trilogy. and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the days of the Butlerian Jihad.

House Atreides has its fiefdom on the planet Caladan, and is noted for its nobility of spirit, its proverbial justice and virtue towards its people. These virtues arouse the most unconditional loyalty in his servants. Caladan's main industry is the cultivation of Pundi Rice. It also has other minor industries derived from agriculture and fishing, as well as the construction of pleasure yachts and other vessels. Impregnable on Caladan, their troops are highly trained: the family has even developed a battle language of its own. The colors of House Atreides are green and black, and their symbol is a red hawk.

• Duque Leto Atreides, head of the Atreides House
• Lady JessicaBene Gesserit and Duque concubine, Paul's mother and Alia.
• Paul AtreidesThe only living son and heir to the Atreides House.
• Alia AtreidesPaul's little sister, born after his father's death.
• Leto AtreidesThe son of Paul Muad'Dib and Chani dies in a Harkonnen assault.
• Thufir Hawat, mentat and Master of Assassins of the Atreides House.
• Gurney Halleck, completely loyal troubling warrior to the Atreides House.
• Duncan IdahoMaster Espadachín of the Atreides House, graduated from the Ginaz School.
• Dr. Wellington YuehDr. Suk of the Atreides House.

Harkonnen House

A blue faucet, emblem of the Harkonnen.

The Harkonnen House appears with special relevance in the novel, and also has an important presence in the Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune trilogies >, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Härkönen is a Finnish family name: härkä means "bull" and rauta means "iron". Whether or not these words are intentionally related to the Harkonnen and Rautha surnames of some House members is unknown. The symbol of House Harkonnen in the novel is a blue griffin.

The origin of the house can be found in Xavier Harkonnen, a military friend of Vorian Atreides during the Butlerian Jihad, and Abulurd Harkonnen, his grandson and first Baron of House Harkonnen, whose betrayal of Vorian Atreides gave rise to the ancient enmity that confronts the two Great Houses since the Battle of Corrin. The Harkonnen fiefdom planet is Giedi Prime, formerly rich in natural resources, which under the oppressive Harkonnen rule is industrially over-exploited into a polluted wasteland. Aside from controlling the production of spice melange on Arrakis, House Harkonnen owns other important industries such as blue obsidian mining, Harkonnen stout, and Krall tuber plantations.

• Siridar Barón Vladimir HarkonnenHead of Harkonnen House.
• Piter de VriesMentat pervert and Master of Assassins of the Harkonnen House.
• Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, nephew and heir to the Baron.
• Glossu "the Beast" RabbanAlso called Rabban Harkonnen, Baron's oldest nephew.
• Iakin NefudCaptain of the Guard.

Corrino House

The golden lion, symbol of the Corrino.

The Imperial House Corrino is the ruler of the Empire. It was founded after the Battle of Corrin, the end of the Butlerian Jihad, when Faykan Butler decided to change his last name in honor of the victory of humans over the Thinking Machines. Soon after, simultaneously assuming the offices of Viceroy and Grand Patriarch, he declares himself Emperor of Mankind.

The ancestral planet of Imperial House Corrino is Salusa Secundus, seat of Imperial power since the Butlerian Jihad. Due to an atomic assault by a House Renegade, House Corrino and the Throne of the Golden Lion were relocated to Kaitain. As a result of the attack, Salusa Secundus was environmentally devastated. Designated an Imperial Prison Planet, its harsh conditions allowed only the fittest to survive, allowing House Corrino to develop the most feared military unit in the universe, the Sardaukar, fanatical warriors whose mere mention it silenced any potential dissidents in the Empire.

Ambition, betrayals and conspiracies are common in the Corrino family. The Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV assassinated his brother Fafnir to ensure his ascension to the throne, and subsequently poisoned his father Elrood IX to hasten it.

• Shaddam IVPadishah Emperor of the Known Universe.
• Princess Irulan Corrino, eldest daughter and heir to the Emperor, educated by the Bene Gesserit and historian.
• Count Hasimir Fenringa genetic eunuch, counselor and best friend of the emperor. Margot Fenring married.

Bene Gesserit

Monja of Lebanon, with an outfit similar to that of a Reverend Mother Bene Gesserit.

The Bene Gesserit is described as a female order whose members undergo extraordinary physical and mental conditioning to acquire "powers" and abilities that can easily appear magical to outsiders. Due to their secrecy and incomprehensible abilities they are often called "witches" by his enemies. Reverend Mothers wear black mail and a long, flowing robe called an Aba over it.

Trained on the school planet Wallach IX, the Bene Gesserit's abilities and roles are wide-ranging, encompassing all aspects of the empire's fabric: concubines to the Great Houses, Truthspeakers, religion-establishers, arm of the Bene Gesserit reach everywhere. Their complete physical and martial training, their agility, speed and precision make them fearsome adversaries in close combat.

• Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Determiner of Truth of the emperor, former mentor of Lady Jessica.
• Lady Margot FenringBene Gesserit married to Count Hasimir Fenring.

Fremen

God created Arrakis (Dune) to test the faithful.

Proverb Fremen

The Fremen are the free tribes of Arrakis, also known as Dune, the desert planet that is the only source of spice melange in the known universe. The Fremen came to Arrakis at the time of the Butlerian Jihad as Zensunni Wanderers, a disgraced religious sect. Over the millennia, the incredibly harsh conditions of Arrakis lead them to become a people born for survival, the Free Men of Dune, a name that was shortened to Fremen.

• Stilgar, Naib (Servant of SietchFremen, leader of Sietch Tabr; a great warrior and a skilled politician.
• Chani, warrior fremen concubine of Paul Atreides. She's a daughter of Liet-Kynes.
• Liet-Kynes, son fremen of Pardot Kynes, Liet is a revered figure among the fremen.
• Pardot Kynes, Imperial Planetologist for Arrakis, considered a Umma (holy man or prophet) among the fremen. He married the Fremen rite with Frieth, Stilgar's sister.
• Sayyadina Ramallo, spiritual leader of the fremen, former Bene Gesserit.
• Harah, widow of Jamis, warrior fremen who dies in a ritual death struggle with Paul. He takes care of her as a maid and then marries Stilgar.
• OtheymFedaykin warrior.
• Esmar Tuek, leader of smugglers who bond with Gurney Halleck.

Themes

The initial premises of the novel are not forced at any time, but are gradually extended so that the reader becomes accustomed to them. The author deliberately left out super-technological speculations and technical advances, nevertheless paying great attention to ideas about ecology, religion, culture and humanity. This led to this saga being seen at the time as a provocative and appealing departure from the science fiction that had been written before.

Messianism

The novel is set in a decaying galactic empire, where corruption, excess, and division lead to a downfall reminiscent of Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Religious manipulation throughout the empire by the Bene Gesserit Missionaria Protectiva paves the way for a messiah to lead that empire in a process of regeneration. The unplanned appearance of that messiah drags the empire into a Jihad that shakes the Universe.

The consequences of placing the reins of power in the hands of superheroes, instead of leaving them to a conscious and responsible humanity, form the main theme in the Dune saga. In a famous essay on the origins of the novel, Frank Herbert said:

Huge problems are created when human errors are made on the scale of a superhero... Heroes are a pain, superheroes are a catastrophe. The mistakes of the superheroes lead most of us to the disaster.

He also said:

I had this theory that superheroes are disastrous for humans, that even though you created an infallible hero, the things that this hero would put into motion could fall into the hands of wandering mortals. What better way to destroy a civilization, society or race than to put into the hands of a superhero the wild convulsions that follow their critical judgment and decision-making power?

Frank Herbert, Genesis of Dune, Omni Magazine, July 1980

From a historical perspective, similarities can be found between the narrative events of Dune and other great messianic figures in history: the fact that a foreign-born man from an old colonial order manages to unite scattered and warlike desert tribes of religious nomads, and winning freedom from waning Imperial power is almost a mirror image of the Middle Eastern Arab Revolt at the turn of the 20th century, in which a British officer, Thomas Edward Lawrence, mobilized Arab warriors to break the power of the Ottoman Empire in the Arabian peninsula.

Ecology

Cultural ecology, a term associated with anthropologist Julian Steward (1955), studies the relationships between a given society and its environment - the forms of life and the ecosystems that support their ways of life. The central argument is that the environment is a major factor contributing to social organization and other human institutions. In particular those related to the distribution of wealth and power in a society, and how it affects behaviors such as hoarding or generosity. After the publication in 1962 of the book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson came the first sound of environmental alarm about the arrival of the death of the planet due to human activity.

The conception of a planet as a complex and almost living being, the complex description of life on Arrakis, from the life cycle of gigantic sandworms, for which water is deadly, to small life forms, mice and hawks adapted to the hostility of the desert form a landscape where man must reach a compromise with his environment. The planet's inhabitants, the Fremen, find themselves subjected to one of the most hostile ecosystems imaginable, leading their culture to focus on survival and recycling: in an environment so poor in resources, nothing can go to waste. The Fremen must make that compromise with their environment by sacrificing in part their desire for a wetter planet in favor of the sandworms that are so important to their culture and economy.

Subsequent novels have continued to present complex and unique ecologies and their relationship to human culture, such as Kim Stanley Robinson's The Martian Trilogy (1992).

Eugenics

Eugenics defends the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention. In 1965 advances in genetics were opening a door to the revision of eugenics as an applicable policy, a concept harshly discussed and stigmatized after the experience of Nazi Germany, when politicians and members of the international scientific community publicly renounced many of the ideas about "racial hygiene" and "unfit" members of society.

Logo of the Second International Congress of Eugenesia, 1921, represented as a tree that unifies a diversity of different fields.

In Dune what is called positive eugenics occurs, favoring the reproduction of those considered genetically fit, as opposed to negative eugenics that hinders that of the "unfit". The genetic program that the Bene Gesserit develops for generations in search of the achievement of a super-human, the Kwisatz Haderach, follows a reproductive scheme according to which they establish the most suitable individuals to procreate, according to the characteristics that they wish to add, improve or reinforce the various genetic lines that make it up. Due to an unforeseen accident (Jessica Atreides' love for her Duke and her disobedience to the Bene Gesserit by conceiving a child), the program spirals out of control in its later stages and Paul, a premature Kwisatz Haderach, shakes the empire and the world. universe by gathering in his figure the religious, military and political powers.

Economy, religion and politics

The extreme economic dependence of the empire on the melange in Dune focuses on the fact that this resource, essential for space travel that allows the survival of the fabric economic and social of the same, has as its only source in the universe the sand worms of Arrakis. This poses a situation of hydraulic despotism, a dependence on a specific resource whose production is concentrated in a single source. In the previously mentioned essay by Frank Herbert, he stated that CHOAM is OPEC, thus establishing a parallel between melange and oil.

The influence of religion in social movements is reflected in the manipulations of the Missionaria Protectiva with which the Bene Gesserit seeks to prepare the ground for the emergence of a messiah who, gathering all of society around him, can achieve power.

When a religious figure appears threatening melange production, the economic fabric of the empire is threatened, and political power falls. (See Messianism)

When religion and politics travel in the same chariot, and the chariot is guided by a living holy man (baraka), nothing can stop him on his way.

Frank Herbert, DuneAppendix II: Dune's religion.

The desert

Namibian desert dunes similar to those imagined in the Dune world.

The parallelism between melange and oil and the fact that the most important messianic movements had their origin in the desert turned this into the landscape of the novel. In this way, the Dune civilization was inspired by the Arab civilization:

In Western culture, Herbert says, when it comes to "Desert" the idea "Arab" automatically appears in the mind, so I resorted to Arabic to rise from most of the names and linguistic terms, and for many other things.

Domingo SantosDune: From Ecology to Mesianism

The desert in Dune is taken to the extreme: water is the most precious commodity. All the technology revolves around the recovery of water: stillsuits to recover and recycle the water that the body exudes, wind traps to capture the scarce humidity in the environment. Water is the main element of change on the planet, and it is even the currency of the Fremen, symbolized by the rings of water. In such a hostile environment, the tribe is the individual's only refuge. The water belongs to the tribe, and the water from the corpses must be recycled and returned to the tribe. One of the greatest expressions of pain is crying, giving water to the dead. Stilgar, the Fremen naib, spits on the table in respect to Duke Leto.

Preludes and continuations

New trilogies have been published in Spanish that complement the original saga written by his son Brian Herbert in collaboration with science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson. The authors affirm that his novels are based on notes left by Frank Herbert before his death.

Legends of Dune

After the first prelude, the same authors went back again in the time of the saga and published a new trilogy, set in the times of the Butlerian Jihad, composed of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, Dune: The Crusade of the Machines and Dune: The Battle of Corrin. This trilogy introduces the Titans, cyborgs with a human brain and a mechanical body, who conspire to free themselves from the domination of Omnius, supermind leader of the Synchronized Planets, and regain power over humanity. The start of the liberation war against the Thinking Machines led by Omnius will take place on ancient Earth, when the robot Erasmus kills the son of Serena Butler, daughter of the viceroy of the League of Nobles. The confrontation of the League of Nobles against the Thinking Machines is told, with the First Xavier Harkonnen as one of the military leaders and aided by Vorian Atreides, human son of the Titan Agamemnon, and the betrayal that will make him an enemy of Abulurd Harkonnen, enmity that will last between both Houses for millennia. The origins of the Bene Gesserit, the Suk doctors, the Mentat, and instant travel and the Spacing Guild are also revealed. And the beginning of the Empire of the Known Universe in the Battle of Corrin.

Prelude to Dune

This first prelude was published in three novels entitled Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen and Dune: House Corrino. They develop the events that led to the situation created at the beginning of the original saga. Thus the reader encounters Shaddam Corrino's machinations to seize the throne from his father, and his attempt to eliminate the melange monopoly by commissioning the Tleilaxu to develop a synthetic substitute, Amal . The conquest of Ix by the Tleilaxu ends up causing the fall of House Vernius, and its liberation by the inhabitants, the birth of Ix as a corporation. The Reverend Mother Mohiam blackmails Baron Vladimir Harkonnen into conceiving Jessica, who will disobey the Bene Gesserit's Kwisatz Haderach program by conceiving a son to the young Duke Leto Atreides, at the start of her ascendant political career in the Landsraad.

Dune 7

Two more novels have been published, continuations of the original saga built from notes left by Frank Herbert and which were only found after his death: Cazadores de Dune (2008) and Sandworms of Dune (2009), based on a hypothetical seventh title of the original saga that Frank Herbert had planned.

In Hunters of Dune, the Ithaca, Duncan Idaho's ship embarks on his exotic odyssey to the uncharted reaches of the universe, beset by a mysterious and terrifying Enemy. In order to face him, the fugitives need to become stronger: the only alternative is to resort to Scytale's genetic technology, and thus be able to revive the Dune figures of the past and his prodigious abilities. Murbella continues the process of assimilating Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit into a New Sisterhood, wiping out the remnants of rogue Matres and preparing to face the Enemy, the ancient Thinking Machines Omnius and Erasmus, incarnated as Daniel. and Marty, the supposed face dancers who watched Idaho at the end of Dune Chapterhouse.

Heroes of Dune

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson published in 2008 "Paul de Dune", connected to the end of "Dune" by Frank Herbert. In 2009 they published "Winds of Dune", which takes place after "El Mesías de Dune". Apparently they would write two more books, one about Irulan and another about Leto (Paul's son).

Great Dune Schools

In 2012 they published "The Brotherhood of Dune" and in March 2014 "The Mentats", which will form part of a trilogy on the formation of the great schools: Bene Gesserit, of the Suk doctors, of the Mentat, the Spacing Guild, and of the beginning of the Empire of the Known Universe at the Battle of Corrin.

Accommodations

Cinema

Project by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky.

The success of the novel immediately prompted the idea of transferring it to the big screen. Alejandro Jodorowsky intended to take charge of the project, going so far as to write a script for the feature film lasting more than 10 hours. With the help of Jean Giraud, known as Moebius, and H. R. Giger for the creation of the visual atmosphere, Dune was to feature Orson Welles in the role of Baron Harkonnen and Salvador Dali as Emperor Shaddam IV. The soundtrack was going to be in charge of different artists such as Pink Floyd, Magma and Karlheinz Stockhausen, among others.

For many specialists, the script written by Jodorowsky was a source of inspiration for films such as Star Wars, Blade Runner and Alien: The Eighth Passenger.

On November 19, 2021, a copy of the manuscript was auctioned for €2.66 million.

David Lynch film

David Lynch.

Finally, and after passing through the hands of several directors, the producer Dino de Laurentiis commissioned the making of Dune (1984) to the director David Lynch, who had to his credit the success of The Elephant Man (1980). With his friend Kyle MacLachlan in the title role of Paul Atreides, the film had great actors and actresses in its cast: the British Francesca Annis and Siân Phillips as Lady Jessica and the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam respectively, the German Jürgen Prochnow as the Duke Leto Atreides, Sting as Feyd Rautha Harkonnen, Kenneth McMillan as the wicked Baron Harkonnen or a young Brad Dourif as the Mentat Piter de Vries; It also featured the participation of Patrick Stewart playing Gurney Halleck, Paul Atreides' weapons master. The original soundtrack was composed by the American group Toto, although the main theme of the film, "Prophecy Theme" was commissioned to Brian Eno.

Paramount Project

A new film based on the book was announced in 2008, to be directed by Peter Berg and produced by Paramount Pictures. The magazine Variety mentioned that the producers were looking for a "faithful adaptation". of the novel, and considered "the concept of finite ecological resources particularly current". Frank Herbert's son Brian Herbert and fellow writer Kevin J. Anderson, who have co-written several sequels and preludes to Dune since 1999, would join the team as technical advisors according to AMCTV. However, the project was eventually cancelled.

Denis Villeneuve's cover

Denis Villeneuve.

As reported by Variety on December 22, 2016, Legendary Pictures was in negotiations with Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, author of two other films in the genre: Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, to definitively direct a new film version, after acquiring its rights. On February 1, 2017, Brian Herbert confirmed via Twitter that Villeneuve would take charge of the new film adaptation of the film. universe of Dune, whose embodiment would be in a saga film format such as The Lord of the Rings. Its screenwriter would be Eric Roth. On November 9, Brian confirmed again through the same social network that had already finished the first draft of the script. Five days later an interview was made public in which Villeneuve declared that the new version would not be an adaptation of the 1984 film.

David Lynch made an adaptation in the 1980s that has some very strong qualities. I mean, David Lynch is one of the best live filmmakers. I have great respect for him. When I saw his adaptation, I was impressed. But it wasn't what I dreamed. So I'm trying to make the adaptation of my dreams. He won't have any connection to David Lynch's film. I go back to the book and go to the images that came out when I read it.

In January 2018, the director revealed to Fandom that Dune would be a "Star Wars movie for adults," adding that his claim was still being to adapt Herbert's novel, being open to making a sequel in the future.

Most of Star Wars' main ideas come from Dune, so it's gonna be a challenge to address this. The ambition is to make the Star Wars movie I've never seen. In a way, it's Star Wars for adults. We'll see. He could be involved with one or two movies, if this happens.

In March 2018, while at the Festival Rendez-Vous du Cinema Quebecois, he stated that "Dune would probably take a couple of years to make," adding that &# 34;The goal is to make at least two films, or perhaps more", also clarifying that the temporary ellipsis of the story would facilitate the action of dividing the story into two parts.

Two months later, when speaking to the French press, the filmmaker confirmed that his adaptation would definitely be divided into two parts, he would have liked to be able to direct both films at the same time, but that it would have been too expensive, so they would finally make them separately. Villeneuve went on to state that he intended to start pre-production soon, adding that Eric Roth had written the first draft and Villeneuve himself worked on the text.

On July 12, it was reported that the production of Dune would begin in February 2019, taking place at the Orgio Film studios, in Budapest (Hungary), where Villeneuve filmed Blade Runner 2049.

Repeated casting announcements continued until finally on February 15, Warner Bros. announced that the Legendary production directed by Denis Villeneuve would hit theaters on November 20, 2020 in 3D and Imax format. Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Villeneuve were confirmed in the adaptation of the novel, and in the production Mary Parent and Cale Boyter from Legendary along with the Canadian director. Executive producers are Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt and Kim Herbert for the Frank Herbert Estate, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant. Production began on March 18, 2019 in Budapest and Jordan.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, its premiere in the United States was postponed to October 22, 2021, while in Europe and other countries it did so from September 15 of that same year.

Television

Two television miniseries covering the first three novels of the saga have also been made (Scifi Channel):

• Dune, mini series of 2000 based on the first saga novel.
• Children of Dune, 2003 mini series continuation of the previous mini series and based on novels The Messiah of Dune e Children of Dune.

A series on the Bene Gesserit brotherhood is currently in the works, produced by Legendary TV and Villeneuve Films, and will be distributed by HBO Max. It will work as a spin-off of the 2021 film adaptation of Dune and is entitled Dune: The Sisterhood.

Comics

The comic book version is an adaptation of the David Lynch film. Marvel took this task very seriously and relied on the art of cartoonist Bill Sienkiewicz, making the cartoons a scrupulous reflection of the film, even, for the first time, that fidelity was reflected in the hyperrealistic resemblance of the drawings. with the actors of the film. In Spain it was published by Ediciones Forum within the Marvel Graphic Novels collection (1985).

Video Games

The legacy of Dune has been used to make several video games:

Dune

Created by Virgin Interactive, in 1990, it was a successful game that combined the best of the graphic adventures of the time with some elements of what, later, would be the strategy games.

Collaboration with the Cryo company would provide the game with a very attractive interface in the graphics, which was able to join a suitable graphical requirements for the moment and a consequent soundtrack (after sold separately).

Dune II

It is considered the most successful production of franchise. It was configured as the real-time strategy game, being the first time the game was divided into 3 houses: Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos. It highlights its modern interface, game mode, as well as adequacy, and innovation in what the literary saga of Dune refers to. It emerged in 1992 and was already developed by Westwood Studios.

Dune 2000

In 1998 the third instalment of the saga emerged, Dune 2000. The game follows, fundamentally, the structure of the previous delivery, adapting the game to modern time (improved playability and graphics). High-definition cinematographic scenes and a very interesting soundtrack were added, as in previous deliveries.

Emperor 58 - Battle for Dune

It was basically a success in real-time strategy games. It emerged in 2001. It highlights a very successful soundtrack, which was sold separately.

House Atreides

Frank Klepacki

House Harkonnen

David Arkenstone

House Ordos

Jarrid Mendelson

Frank Herbert's Dune

Developed by DreamCatcher Interactive, he saw the light in December 2001. He tried to follow the plot of cinematic adaptation. Only the music was well received by the critique.