# The new "Dune" adaptation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 14, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788 "2020-04-14T18:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/201 "2020-10-06T03:11:26Z")
Yes, I suppose that’s right. Still… bummer. For more: > **[Dune Will No Longer Debut in December](https://www.tor.com/2020/10/05/dune-will-no-longer-debut-in-december/?fbclid=IwAR1dMAOMV8CvJMOXzKrBaA-IVkU5tOHJDHO8HTG5-SGj64MVm1nytLqzC8Q)** > > Movie theater chains are losing another major release for 2020. According to Deadline, Warner Brothers is pushing Dune back from its release date of December 18th, 2020 to October 1st, 2021. This d… ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/202 "2020-10-06T14:01:28Z")
Delaying is understandable, but until October? Why not Labor Day? (4th of July may be too soon virus wise) Brian ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/203 "2020-10-06T16:39:45Z")
Hmm… potential vicious circle: content won’t be made available until mass audiences can again make it to theaters, but meanwhile the theater have nothing to keep them going, and we may not be able to have mass audiences for _years_, plural. So the risk is that a point may come when there may not be enough surviving screens with enough seats to provide a profitable return vis-a-vis sunk cost on many of the pending Big Pictures. The industry may have to redefine what they call “successful” especially for the productions where the cost has been already incurred. And then what will be the incentive to put the same kind of money into Dune 2. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/204 "2020-10-06T18:13:47Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Delaying is understandable, but until October? Why not Labor Day? (4th of July may be too soon virus wise) I think they want to avoid delaying it multiple times to build excitement for the new date, so they picked one they were confident with. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/205 "2020-10-08T19:06:19Z")
And, presumably, if things improve dramatically next year, they can move the date up again. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/206 "2020-10-08T21:22:22Z")
This thread prompted me to go back and re-read _Dune_ again. Thirty-odd years makes a difference; I didn’t find it as intimidatingly complex as I remember it. And my view of some characters was more influenced by the Lynch film than I had realized; for example, Baron Harkonnen was not nearly as depraved, perverted, and disgusting as he was portrayed in the movie. He was a villain and amoral, of course, but he wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t a gross hedonist; he was attempting to advance and enrich his house, just as Duke Leto was for the Atreides. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/207 "2020-12-04T02:47:34Z")
Its release date is October 1 of next year, with a simultaneous release on HBO Max. The article includes a whole host of movies that are getting simultaneous releases with theatrical and HBO. ETA: I missed that there was a whole HBO max thread, sorry about that. > **[Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including ‘Dune’ and ‘Matrix...](https://variety.com/2020/film/news/warner-bros-hbo-max-theaters-dune-matrix-4-1234845342/)** > > When Warner Bros. announced that “Wonder Woman 1984” would land on the streaming service HBO Max on Christmas, the same time it debuts in theaters, many expected it to be an isolated ex… ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/208 "2020-12-04T03:33:21Z")
Interesting that they went straight from Matrix 1 to 4 😉 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/209 "2021-04-15T19:09:14Z")
Bumped. > **['Dune' (2021) writer confirms a concerning rumor about the movie](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/dune-2021-hbo-max-movie-part-1)** > > Get ready for half of 'Dune'! One of the screenwriters on the new 'Dune' says only half the book is coming in the movie. Here's what it means for possible sequels. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/210 "2021-04-15T22:05:21Z")
Actually I like that approach. Spoilering just in case, though it seems like it will be impossible to avoid this info between now and October. Usually this kind of thing feels like a money grab, but in the case of Dune the story probably needs that extra breathing room. The linked article discusses where the break point will be between the two movies. Alia’s birth feels like the right spot. This will allow the first movie to focus on the conflict between the Atreides and Harkonnen houses, the politics around Arrakis and fleshing out the power structures of the Guild, Bene Gesserit and the Imperium. I actually think stretching out the initial transfer of power on Dune and the ensuring battle will increase the mass appeal of the film. Then the second film can be where the weirdness of the Spice, the Fremen and the Kwisatz Haderach become the focus. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/211 "2021-04-15T22:26:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Ian McKellen > Patrick Stewart > Charles Dance > Michael Fassbender > Michael Gambon Was the emperor elderly during the time period of the first novel? I pictured him as someone younger, maybe in his 40s. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/212 "2021-04-15T22:40:53Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > This is a case where I’m happy to suspend my disbelief. It’s not ease of acting, it’s the ability of the audience to recognize characters and read expressions. It might be more realistic, but it results in a movie where it’s difficult to follow the action, care about characters, and know what they’re feeling. > > Even your space example does this - in movies, the spacesuit always has a light shining in the astronaut’s face, even though that would make it impossible to see. I’ll just point out that The Mandalorian coped with having a lead character that, aside from a very few, very short scenes, spent two seasons completely covered head to toe in armor and proved popular. They also got some mileage out of both Jawas and Tusken Raiders, which also were completely covered. It can be done. Granted, probably not every actor could pull it off. I agree - can they get the damn stillsuits right this time? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/213 "2021-04-15T23:54:03Z")
What? It’s not like they didn’t have the time. Budget concerns or just a hope to milk more money from it by doing a second film I am guessing. Maddening. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/214 "2021-04-16T00:12:48Z")
I’m not sure why this is being treated as a surprise - it’s been known since early last year that Dune was going to be a two-parter. It’s even been talked about in this thread already. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/215 "2021-04-16T13:53:57Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > > Ian McKellen > > Patrick Stewart > > Charles Dance > > Michael Fassbender > > Michael Gambon > > Was the emperor elderly during the time period of the first novel? I pictured him as someone younger, maybe in his 40s. I thought the Emperor was actually much older than he looked due to ingesting the spice. That’s quite a promotion from Gurney Halleck to Emperor of the Known Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/216 "2021-04-16T14:07:22Z")
Yes, as you already noted upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Hrvojeos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Hrvojeos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hrvojeos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/217 "2021-04-16T14:10:54Z")
I think the movie will be amazing and I just can’t wait to see it. They have an amazing cast, an amazing director and a pretty big budget. The only problem I see is that people don’t watch a lot of SF movies in theaters as they used to. Every big SF movie in the last 10 and more years if not bombed, wasn’t financially good enough, except Star Wars (even they had problems, and I am not counting Superhero movies). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/218 "2021-04-16T16:42:58Z")
Welcome, **Hrvojeos**! I tend to agree with you. Hope this _Dune_ is both (a) really good and (b) a blockbuster hit, so they’ll actually make the second half. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/219 "2021-04-16T18:28:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m not sure why this is being treated as a surprise - it’s been known since early last year that Dune was going to be a two-parter. It’s even been talked about in this thread already Indeed. The fact that the film’s a two-parter is mentioned in the _Vanity Fair_ article linked in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/220 "2021-04-16T21:10:54Z")
> [@Hrvojeos](#): > > I think the movie will be amazing and I just can’t wait to see it. > > They have an amazing cast, an amazing director and a pretty big budget. > > The only problem I see is that people don’t watch a lot of SF movies in theaters as they used to. Every big SF movie in the last 10 and more years if not bombed, wasn’t financially good enough, except Star Wars (even they had problems, and I am not counting Superhero movies). Yeah, my only concern is that Villeneuve’s films tend to be awesome critical hits that do just sort of ok at the box office. So Dune might not hit the numbers needed to justify the second half. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788.md?page=12)