Would Dune Author Frank Herbert Approve Of The New Movie? Here's What His Son Thinks After First Look

Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in Dune
(Image credit: (Warner Bros))

For years, Dune has been one of those untouchable classics. The great David Lynch adapted the 1965 science fiction in the ‘80s to what he himself calls a “failure”. Denis Villeneuve may be facing unbelievably high expectations with his Dune remake starring Timothée Chalamet, but the author’s son Brian Herbert doesn’t seem worried in the slightest. Check it out:

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Whoa. The son of Frank Herbert sounds like he’s all in on Dune. Along with sharing the first look pictures of the cast in Denis Villeneuve’s version on his Twitter, Brian Herbert gave the movie a shout out, announcing his father would be “incredibly proud.” Brian Herbert is also an author who wrote his father’s biography Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert back in 2003 along with a few other science fiction works.

Denis Villenueve’s adaptation is aiming to be a faithful adaptation of the novel that will be split into two films, rather than jamming its complex story in a single film. The writer/director has assembled an incredible cast including Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Dave Bautista and Stellan Skarsgård.

Along with the first image of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides, the Warner Bros movie has revealed a ton more images of the film earlier this month to get fans excited about the December release. Check these out:

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There have been some mixed reactions from fans about the project so far from fans of the book series. The cast is undeniably incredible and Denis Villeneuve has impressed over the years with films such as Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Sicario and Prisoners. Hans Zimmer is composing the score for the film, so you already know it’s going to sound amazing.

But like just about every book adaptation ever, there will be some changes made to the movie from the books here and there. Such as a change to the movie’s villain Baron Harkonnen (played by Skarsgård). As Denis Villeneuve recently told Vanity Fair, he felt the Baron was very often “flirting” with caricature, so he will attempt to bring more dimension to him.

Aside from Brian Herbert, the star of 1984’s Dune Kyle MacLachlan has showed his excitement for the upcoming remake and support for Timothée Chalamet taking over his role. David Lynch on the other hand will not be revisiting Dune due to the feeling of failure he has over his “total failure” as a filmmaker. The Twin Peaks creator is still sour that he didn’t get to make the movie originally intended.

This new Dune will also certainly introduce new fans to the iconic book series as well, which Denis Villenueve refers to as “Star Wars for adults.” The movie is set to hit theaters on December 18.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.