# 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:** 7
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/121 "2020-09-10T15:12:48Z")
A little confused - a scene in the trailer shows Paul practicing knife-fighting with, I presume, Gurney Halleck. It’s a cool scene, with lightning-fast blows and parries. But if I remember the book correctly, their shields protect them by slowing down fast-moving projectiles so they can be dodged or blocked. Knife-fighting was therefore built around _slowly_ pushing the blade through the shield, presumably while distracting the opponent with attacks from the other limbs. Maybe all the high-speed blows we see in the scene are merely feints? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/122 "2020-09-10T15:25:50Z")
I suspect so. Who’s the guy who takes a knee before Paul and says, “My lord Duke”? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/123 "2020-09-10T15:33:44Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > They must never have read the books. The cast is great and varied. Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya are great choices and more ‘age appropriate’ to the characters in the books than the actors in previous versions Good point there – in the novel, Paul is 15 when the story begins. And yes, per the books House Atreides counts among its major followers people they liberated from opression in several other worlds, plus of course the imperial government would necessarily be staffed by people of vastly different origins, and one of those was Kynes’ father, sent to Arrakis by the Empire. But in the end everyone has got to wrap our minds around that no major book is likely to be adapted for screen literally word for word page by page faithful to the text and never ever fully the way all of us saw it in our heads. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/124 "2020-09-10T15:42:32Z")
IIRC, shields actively block and turn aside fast-moving objects, and only allow slow-moving objects to pass through. I always visualized it a bit like wet sand; hit it hard and you won’t make any progress - move slowly and you can push your fingers in some. Which will, obviously, inform fighting styles. I assume that it’s relative motion that makes a shield work, so if you see a slow strike coming, moving quickly _into_ the strike would turn it away. They probably won’t spend a _ton_ of time on it in the film, but if they’ve really thought things through it could create some fascinating combat choreography. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/125 "2020-09-10T15:46:58Z")
Jason Momoa - Duncan Idaho. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/126 "2020-09-10T15:47:02Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Who’s the guy who takes a knee before Paul and says, “My lord Duke”? I think that’s Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) sans facial hair. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/127 "2020-09-10T15:48:43Z")
Ah, thanks. I didn’t recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/128 "2020-09-10T15:49:02Z")
In the Lynch version at the start they explained who was on which planet 2 or 3 times. That was really dumb. Or maybe that was only in the TV version AKA Alan Smithee version ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/129 "2020-09-10T15:49:30Z")
The technique is fast defence, slow attack. But only through the shield, so fast movements up to that point is part of the technique - not just feints, but also a quick thrust with a slow finish. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/130 "2020-09-10T15:59:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m psyched - and you? I’m…hopeful. Going to be tough to really adapt it well, but I hope they learned some lessons from less successful adaptations. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/131 "2020-09-10T16:18:25Z")
I’m a little uneasy about them not filming both movies in one go. If the first one bombs, due to the pandemic, bad reviews, public apathy or whatever, the studio could cut the budget for the second one badly enough that it would suck no matter how hard DV tries, or just not make it at all. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/132 "2020-09-10T16:28:47Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The technique is fast defence, slow attack. But only through the shield, so fast movements up to that point is part of the technique - not just feints, but also a quick thrust with a slow finish Make sense. I chalked it up to Rule of Cool. > [@carlb](#): > > IIRC, shields actively block and turn aside fast-moving objects, and only allow slow-moving objects to pass through. I always visualized it a bit like wet sand; hit it hard and you won’t make any progress - move slowly and you can push your fingers in some. > > Which will, obviously, inform fighting styles. I assume that it’s relative motion that makes a shield work, so if you see a slow strike coming, moving quickly _into_ the strike would turn it away. They probably won’t spend a _ton_ of time on it in the film, but if they’ve really thought things through it could create some fascinating combat choreography If memory serves, David Lynch did play with something like that in the earlier movie. There was a scene of Paul fighting Gurney Halleck, that showed Halleck slowly slipping a knife through Paul’s shield. The shield fighting, I thought, was one of the few really well-done aspects of the film. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/133 "2020-09-10T16:36:29Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Meanwhile over in the YouTube comment sections the Usual Suspects are already going “OMG, SJW casting!” over a gigantic universe being diverse. SMH Wait until they get to the Bene Gesserit, or Maud’dib, or the Jihad (provided they keep that language in there). I can’t wait for the this movie ruined Dune, it’s all about women and Muslims! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/134 "2020-09-10T16:47:12Z")
Completely random fact: the Hebrew translation of the book changed “Bene Gesserit” to “Benot Gesserit”, because “Bene” means “sons of”, while “Benot” means “daughters of”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/135 "2020-09-10T16:53:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Wait until they get to the Bene Gesserit, or Maud’dib, or the Jihad (provided they keep that language in there). I can’t wait for the this movie ruined Dune, it’s all about women and Muslims! And the [Orange Catholic Bible.](https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Orange_Catholic_Bible) ---
**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:** [September 10, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/136 "2020-09-10T16:58:18Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Wait until they get to the Bene Gesserit, or Maud’dib, or the Jihad (provided they keep that language in there). Oh, they are already posting _“why does he say ‘Crusade’?? They’re taking jihad out to be PC!!”_ You’ll hear it from both directions… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/137 "2020-09-10T17:50:01Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I can’t wait for the this movie ruined Dune, it’s all about women and Muslims! And you’ll know that they just want to bitch. Dune **IS** about strong women as much as it is about anything else, maybe more. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/138 "2020-09-10T19:41:20Z")
I think it’s pretty obvious that Jessica is the book’s main character, not Paul. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/139 "2020-09-10T21:49:42Z")
I was referring to the series as a whole not just the first book. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788/140 "2020-09-10T21:51:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m a little uneasy about them not filming both movies in one go. If the first one bombs, due to the pandemic, bad reviews, public apathy or whatever, the studio could cut the budget for the second one badly enough that it would suck no matter how hard DV tries, or just not make it at all. Rankin-Bass could come along and save the day! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-new-dune-adaptation/851788.md?page=8)