This year on October 1, the highly anticipated Dune movie will be released in theaters. The novel Dune, written by Frank Herbert in 1965, is set in the far-off future, where humanity has expanded across many habitable planets. The government follows a feudal system, with a supreme Emperor ruling the galaxy and families ruling over the different planets. Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto Atreides, who heads one of the Noble families across the Universe. There are six Dune novels, which span millennia  throughout the course of the novels (Click here for more information about the Dune universe). The first Dune novel centers around the planet Arrakis, otherwise known as Dune, which is a desert planet. Dune is the only planet that produces melange, or spice, an addictive drug that provides special properties and capabilities. 

The first adaptation of Dune was first featured in theaters in 1984 to a rather underwhelmed audience. It will now feature a stellar cast, with an excellent group of established actors and actresses: Timothée Chalamet will play Paul Atreides, with Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skargaard, and Rebecca Ferguson playing major roles. (For the full cast, click here). The director is Denis Villenueve, who has directed other big movies such as Sicario, Blade Runner, and Arrival. The movie will be a two-parter, essentially splitting the first Dune book into two sections.

Having read the book, I can say that the trailer is fantastic (click here for the trailer). It shows a couple cool scenes, gives an insight to the visuals the movie will use, but doesn’t give away too much. While the trailer is very short, after watching it I think casting Timothée Chalamet as Paul was an excellent choice. From the limited sample size, he seems to embody the personality of Paul, and I’m excited to see the way he’ll interact with some of the other characters and famous actors as well.

I’m curious to see how the movie will explain some of the complexities that are easier to explain in a book. The Dune novel has a lot of intricacies that are difficult to explain in a movie, since it would take time from the regular plot to explain a lot of the key information. I’m also interested to see where the first movie will end. Will it end exactly at the middle of the book? Will they take more time to develop some of the characters in the first movie? What type of cliffhanger will be used? Will the second movie bleed into the second book at all? These are questions I’m sure will be answered more than adequately through these 2 movies.

Unless you’re scared to spoil the movie for yourself, I’d certainly recommend reading the first book. Hardback and paperback books are indeed still being sold and can be found at your local library. So if you’re a sci-fi or fantasy novel fan, definitely give the Dune book a try. Despite being on the longer side, it reads extremely fast and is very difficult to put down once you’ve started reading it.

Anyways, my excitement could not be higher. The Dune novels deserve a movie that will make a worldwide audience truly appreciate the brilliance, creativity, and suspense of the story. I expect this exceptional crew of actors, actresses, and directors to deliver a truly special film this October.