The other trailer every sci-fi fan's been waiting for — aside from "Star Trek: Discovery" — is the first full trailer for "Dune" and it's here at last.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who has already given us two of the best sci-fi movies in recent years ("Blade Runner 2049" and "Arrival") this latest film adaptation of Frank Herbert's iconic science fiction book (which spawned an entire saga) looks set to become a cinematic epic.
And the first full trailer dropped today (Sept. 9).
The trailer launched during a great Zoom-style cast interview on Twitter hosted by Stephen Colbert. Highlights include Villeneuve talking about how he wanted to shoot in a real desert. "My argument was that they didn't shoot 'Jaws' in a swimming pool," he said. Actor Jason Momoa describes his character (Duncan Idaho) as "the greatest f**king warrior in the universe."
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Timothée. Rebecca. Oscar. Josh. Zendaya. Sharon. Jason. Javier. Denis. DUNE TRAILER FIRST LOOK. 👀 https://t.co/ePHY6aGem4September 9, 2020
The fact that #Dune was trending at number 3 across the country, even before the trailer dropped, just goes to show how much anticipation there was for this trailer.
The trailer begins with the voice-over of young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) talking to Reverend Mother Gaius Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) about his dreams before being given the Gom Jabbar Test of Humanity.
We see flashes of the imminent war between House Atreides and House Harkonnen on Arrakis … and we get to see Paul practicing his fighting skills with Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) using their shields!
From the outset, the amount of care and attention to detail Villeneuve has put into this project is clear. It's a labor of love, that much is obvious. It's also the first time he is acting as both producer and director on one of his own movies. According to IMDb, “adapting 'Dune' for the big screen has been a lifelong dream of Villeneuve. He wanted to get it right, so he waited until he'd done sci-fi films "Arrival" and "Blade Runner 2049" first so that he would have sufficient experience in the genre before starting "Dune."
Villeneuve's "Dune" really shouldn't be compared to the vastly underrated 1984 movie version, directed by David Lynch, since these two adaptations are 36 years apart. While Lynch's movie was many years ahead of its time, filmmaking has come a long way since then.
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Full disclosure, we actually really liked the block-style shields seen in Lynch's "Dune," but Villeneuve's version look like a stylish, updated and entirely appropriate visualization. The same can be said for the all-important stillsuits (the must-have fashion for Arrakis' desert denizens). Again, they look spectacular.
"Dune" is the perfect franchise for Villeneuve to breathe new life into, and frankly, the cast is beyond our wildest expectations. Joining Chalamet, Rampling and Brolin are Momoa (as Duncan Idaho), Dave Bautista (as Glossu 'Beast' Rabban), Oscar Isaac (as Duke Leto Atreides), Javier Bardem (as Stilgar), Zendaya (as Chani), Rebecca Ferguson (as Lady Jessica) and Stellan Skarsgård (as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen).
In the new trailer, we get a brief glimpse of Bautista as Rabban (who looks amazing) and just the slightest of peek at Skarsgård as the Baron. There's also some incredible cinematography of the surface of Arrakis plus of course a giant worm at the end.
"Dune" is expected to be released in theaters across the country on Dec.18. However, before we all get too excited, a new report from Deadline suggests that the release date could possibly get pushed back to 2021.
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