An Unfilmable Sci-Fi Book Was Conquered 5 Years Ago, Starting the 2020’s Best Movie Franchise

Turns out, the third time is the charm. Dune, the 1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, was for a long time considered unadaptable. For the longest time, the novel’s most notable adaptation was the 1984 film by David Lynch. Lynch had hoped that his Dune film would launch a franchise with stated plans to adapt Herbert’s Dune Messiah. Unfortunately, the film was not without its share of problems. The screenplay was considered confusing, and despite the film’s sizable budget, the special effects appeared cheap. The film’s harshest critics even considered it the worst film of the year. 

Twenty years later, the SyFy channel adapted Dune into a live-action mini series. With it, they arrived at a more faithful adaptation to the book. Given it had a television budget and not a film one, the show contained less spectacle. The series’ critics also couldn’t help but point out how the show dragged with many parts bogged down by exposition. It’s not difficult to see how, given the original novel’s length of 658 pages. 

Still, Dune, given its prestige in sci-fi literature and cinematic elements, attracted interest in turning it into a film that worked. Adaptations of popular books such as the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter proved these films could do well both cinematically and financially. All that was needed was the right script and the right cast. Five years ago, in 2021, the result of that hit theaters. 

Why Dune (2021) Worked

Similar to David Lynch, director Denis Villeneuve knew he wanted Dune to be a franchise with at least two movies. Call it insight or a better understanding of modern audiences, Villeneuve knew to split up the first Dune book into two parts. This way, the movie didn’t have to concern itself with the novel’s entirety. Instead, Part One had more time to flesh out characters, build the world, and let elements of the plot sit with audiences. 

Dune works because it’s an understandable distillation of the novel’s themes. Villeneuve considered his screenplay a coming-of-age story, albeit with some of the book’s political aspects. From the movie’s beginning, easy comparisons between spice, the most valuable commodity in the galaxy, and oil can be made. 

The opening scene of the movie centers not on protagonist Paul Atreides — who would generate months of internet discourse on whether or not he was intended as a hero  — but rather on a monologue from Fremen Chani. Chani details how her people have suffered at the hands of the Harkonnens, outsiders who came to her world only to extract spice. The Harkonnens are forced to leave by imperial decree, but it isn’t relief that Chani feels. Instead, she can’t help but wonder who the next oppressors of the Fremen will be. 

Chani’s monologue then frames the whole movie, suggesting to the viewer a question yet to be posed and answered — will House Atreides be a kinder cohabitant to the Fremen, or will they be the people’s next oppressor? Paul Atreides starts the film not wanting to be his father’s successor in intergalactic politics, but he quickly learns he has little choice in the matter. Not only that, but his father’s legacy is not the only one he inherits — his mother is a Bene Gesserit, and by training up her son has set Paul up to be the One. After the death of his father, at Paul’s lowest point, he can’t help but blame his mother, saying that “you Bene Gesserit made me a freak”. 

In an undeniable win for Villeneuve, the political motivations of all the players in Dune are clear. The Fremen have resigned themselves to exploitation of the spice and now want only to be left alone. The Harkonnens want to continue getting rich off of the spice trade and are furious when the Emperor gives the planet Arrakis to House Atreides. The Emperor, threatened by House Atreides’s growing prominence in the galaxy, sent them to Arrakis to die, knowing that the Harkonnens would carry out their demise. Paul Atreides is coming of age and has yet to settle in terms of his political outlook, but, notably, he sees one clear end to the chaos — marrying one of the Emperor’s daughters and becoming the Emperor’s sole male heir. 

The Best Movie Franchise of the 2020’s

So far, Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two have been undeniable hits, with the much-anticipated Dune: Part Three arriving in theaters this December. Despite releasing during the pandemic era, Dune: Part One made $41 million in its opening weekend, the highest Warner Bros. achieved during that period. 

In addition to the built-in audience that came with the book, Dune secured an all-star cast. Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, with Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac playing his parents. Zendaya features in the first film — she has sizably more screen time in the second — as the Fremen Chani, who Paul frequently dreams about. Fresh off his superhero work as Aquaman, Jason Momoa has no shortage of action sequences in his role as Duncan Idaho, a friend of Paul’s. Dune: Part Two added notable actors Florence Pugh and Austin Butler to its cast. 

At each step of the franchise process, Villeneuve emphasized that he only wanted to go on if it was successful. Given the franchise’s pop culture dominance and current state, its success is a no-brainer. The so-called Dune curse has been conquered, and there’s no doubt that Dune: Part Three will only live up to the hype when it arrives in theatres on December 18, 2026.