News Dune: Part 1 (2020)

Javier Bardem Is Stilgar In “Dune”





Javier Bardem is reportedly in talks to play Stilgar, a Fremen tribe leader and an ally to Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” adaptation at Legendary Pictures.

Set in the distant future, the story follows Paul whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families. When the Atreides are betrayed, Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control.

Stilgar offers Paul refuge whilst he’s building his rebellion. Everett McGill played the role in David Lynch’s 1984 film while Uwe Ochsenknecht played it in the 2000 mini-series.

The film is racking up a stellar cast including Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Key roles still to be announced include Feyd, Princess Irulan, Emperor Shaddam IV, Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, Dr. Wellington Yueh, and Alia Atreides. Villeneuve co-wrote the script along with Oscar-winner Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.

Josh Brolin Is Gurney In “Dune”





Josh Brolin is reportedly in talks to play Gurney Halleck, the warmaster for the Atreides family and a mentor-like character for the young lead Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” adaptation at Legendary Pictures.

Set in the distant future, the story follows Paul whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families. When the Atreides are betrayed, Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control.

Patrick Stewart played the role in David Lynch’s 1984 film while P. H. Moriarty played it in the 2000 mini-series.

The film is racking up a stellar cast including Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Raban, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Key roles still to be announced include Feyd, Princess Irulan, Emperor Shaddam IV, Duncan Idaho, Dr. Wellington Yueh, and Alia Atreides. Villeneuve co-wrote the script along with Oscar-winner Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.

Jason Momoa Is Duncan Idaho In “Dune”





Jason Momoa is reportedly in talks to play Duncan Idaho, the Atreides family swordmaster and right-hand man to Duke Leto, in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” adaptation at Legendary Pictures.

Set in the distant future, the story follows Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families. When the Atreides are betrayed, Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control.

Richard Jordan played the role in David Lynch’s 1984 film while James Watson played it in the 2000 mini-series. A version of the character is a key player in the sequel novels.

The film is racking up a stellar cast including Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as warmaster and mentor Gurney, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Raban, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Key roles still to be announced include Feyd, Princess Irulan, Emperor Shaddam IV, Dr. Wellington Yueh, and Alia Atreides. Villeneuve co-wrote the script along with Oscar-winner Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.

Scribe Eric Roth Talks “Dune,” “Flower Moon”





Famed Oscar-winning scribe Eric Roth has worked on over two dozen films in his time from “The Insider” to “Munich,” “Forrest Gump” to “Ali”. He recently came back under the spotlight with the screenplay for Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” remake.

Roth’s also been attached to both Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of sci-fi epic “Dune” and Martin Scorsese’s 1920s FBI investigation tale “Killers of the Flower Moon” with Roth having already completed work on the scripts of both. Said scripts are getting re-writes and polishes by both their directors and others, but all will build on Roth’s work.

Speaking with Deadline, Roth was asked what he could discuss about both films and he offered a tease of the approach both filmmakers are taking with the material:

“Dune was a real challenge; Denis Villeneuve brought me on. I had done some little bits of stuff for him for Arrival, and we really love each other personally. I turned in a really long draft, which I think was pretty cumbersome to make within the budget.

I think the ideas were great, and I think they used most of them, but that needed a good look. I think Denis has…brought in another writer to trim it out, and get back to the book in some respects, so I think it’s exciting. The approach to it’s pretty wonderful, and it could be a beautiful movie.

Killers of the Flower Moon, I think, is one of the great stories that one could tell. I think any good writer would do this justice; it’s such a powerful piece, and it’ll be Marty Scorsese basically doing a Western. I would say it would be [filming] late next summer, he’d start [shooting], early fall. I know how much [Scorsese] loves it, and I’m just sending literally this morning the last of this iteration of the script. Then, I’m sure we’ll start rewriting again.

Both films are officially in pre-production and while Leonardo DiCaprio has been attached to ‘Killers,’ there hasn’t been much movement on it. “Dune” on the other hand has been releasing key casting news every day with more roles expected to be announced imminently.

MacLachlan Offers “Dune” Remake Thoughts





The most headline-making film in the first month-and-a-half of this year has to be Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic “Dune”. The filmmaker is assembling one of the most impressive ensemble casts ever and the news about them has been smartly drip-fed out one name at a time.


“Call Me By Your Name” breakout Timothee Chalamet takes on the lead role of Paul Atreides in the new film, the third actor to play the part on screen following “Twin Peaks” alum Kyle MacLachlan’s turn in the 1984 David Lynch-directed adaptation, and Alec Newman in the 2000 mini-series.

Lynch’s film remains one of the most famous examples of a noble failure. Massively over-budget and something of a narrative mess, it has earned a cult following over the years with MacLachlan’s performance considered one of the stronger elements. Speaking with AM to DM this week, MacLachlan was asked about what he thought of the new take:

“I’m curious to see what happens, you know, he’s [Denis Villeneuve] getting together a great cast obviously, really talented people. It’s a challenging piece of material to try to bring to the screen, so I wish him luck with that, if anyone can do it, he’ll do a great job. He’s a terrific filmmaker….The book, I’m kind of a nerd about the book. I read it when I was 15 for the first time. I know the book very well. There are three sections, you can break that into three movies and still have a lot left over.”

At present it’s believed the film will only cover the first half of the novel, following comments from Frank Herbert’s son Brian last year which indicated he’d just read a draft of the screenplay. Asked if he had any advice for Chalamet, MacLachlan says: “He’ll be great… [and] go easy on the spice.”

Production on the new film is expected to start this spring in Budapest and Jordan ahead of a November 2020 release.

Bardem Excited, Skarsgard Mildly Keen For “Dune”





The cast for Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation of the sci-fi novel classic “Dune” is massive, and the project seems to have no problem attracting some of the biggest name actors in the industry.


Indeed, many of the actors involved are as keen as fans of the work to see it happen. Javier Bardem, out doing press for “Everybody Knows,” spoke about his casting as Fremen tribe leader Stilgar in the film to Cinema Blend and says he had no reservations about joining the movie:

“Are you kidding? How much do I have to pay? It’s one of those blessings that you have in this amazing, blessed life that I happen to have: having a job that I love, and make a living with, and also work with people that I truly admire and respect, and I’m getting inspired by it. It’s a lot.

I read the first three books, and, of course, I saw David Lynch’s film. I’m going to be turning 50 on March 1st, so I saw David Lynch’s film, which I loved. I remember the day I saw it in 1984, I think, and it was weird! And I loved it! It was big and weird, and those sandworms.”

While Bardem is expressing nothing but joy about being involved, his co-star Stellan Skarsgard who plays the villain Baron Harkonnen is a bit more reserved albeit similarly keen. Speaking with Collider recently, he was asked about his casting to which he replised:

“It’s like The Avengers. It’s a delicious cast. I’ve just got the book and am going to read it now. I’m playing a small but important role. Most of all I wanted to work with Denis Villeneuve…I’m just there for the ride.”

Filming on the new “Dune” kicks off in the Spring ahead of a November 2020 release.

Chang Chen Up For Dr. Yueh In “Dune”





Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, best known internationally for his major roles in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “The Assassin,” is reportedly in talks to play Dr. Wellington Yueh in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” adaptation at Legendary Pictures.


Set in the distant future, the story follows Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families. When the Atreides are betrayed, Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control.

Yueh is the Atreides family physician. Dean Stockwell played the role in David Lynch’s 1984 film while Robert Russel played it in the 2000 mini-series.

The film keeps racking up its stunning cast including Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as warmaster and mentor Gurney, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Raban, David Dastmalchian as the Harkonnen’s advisor Piter De Vries, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Only a few key roles are still to be announced include Feyd, Princess Irulan, Emperor Shaddam IV and Alia Atreides. Villeneuve co-wrote the script along with Oscar-winner Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.

“Dune” opens on November 20th 2020.

Filming Begins On Villeneuve’s “Dune”





Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures have announced that filming is officially underway on Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” reboot with shooting ti take place in Budapest, Hungary and Jordan. In addition, it has been announced that Hans Zimmer will provide the film’s score.


Set in the distant future, the story follows Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) whose noble family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only planet capable of producing the highly valuable resource known as the spice melange which allows for space travel, control of Arrakis is highly contested amongst the noble families. When the Atreides are betrayed, Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control.

The press release confirms all the casting so far including Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as warmaster and mentor Gurney, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Glossu Rabban, David Dastmalchian as the Harkonnen’s advisor Piter De Vries, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

Additionally, Stephen Henderson (“Lady Bird,” “Fences”) has scored an unknown role. On the crew side there’s cinematographer Greig Fraser (“Rogue One,” “Zero Dark Thirty”), editor Joe Walker (“Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049”), costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Revenant,” “Quills”), production designer Patrice Vermette (“Sicario,” “Arrival”), VFX supervisor Paul Lambert (“First Man,” “Blade Runner 2049”), stunt co-ordinator Tom Struthers (“The Dark Knight,” “Inception”) and Kevin J. Anderson as creative consultant.

Sadly no mention of the other key half dozen roles still to fill, including the big ones like Feyd, Emperor Shaddam IV & Princess Irulan. Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts wrote the script for the film which opens November 20th 2020.

Brolin Teases His Training For “Dune”





Last month, it was revealed that Josh Brolin had joined the star-packed cast of Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”.


Brolin plays the fan-favorite role of weapons master Gurney Halleck who trains the young Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and serves as something of a mentor to the young man. Patrick Stewart previously played the role in the 1984 film.

Brolin has now posted a photo of himself training for the film and captioned it with a quote from Herbert that fans of the book will be familiar with.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BvU3Qlxg2TV/?utm_source=ig_embed

Other cast members include Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Paul’s parents, Zendaya as love interest Chani, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh, Stellan Skarsgard as the villain Baron Harkonnen with Dave Bautista as his murderous nephew Glossu Rabban, David Dastmalchian as the Harkonnen’s advisor Piter De Vries, and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother Mohiam.

“Dune” is scheduled to open in cinemas on November 20th 2020.