The highly anticipated premiere of director Denis Villeneuve’s remake of Dune is going to be pushed nearly a year, according to a new report from Deadline on Monday.
Warner Bros. was set to release the upcoming film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel on December 18 but will now reportedly be delaying things until October 1, 2021.
The postponement follows the news that movie theater giant Cineworld and Regal Cinemas were shuttering because of the pandemic.
Delay: The highly anticipated premiere of director Denis Villeneuve’s remake of Dune is going to be pushed nearly a year, according to a new report from Deadline on Monday
Fans who were excited to see the latest reworking of the 1984 flick will likely be disappointed by the delay, especially considering that the studio dropped the first full trailer for the film in early September.
The remake boasts an all-star cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Javier Bardem and Charlotte Rampling.
It’s been a rough series of blows for movie lovers amid the pandemic and just last week the world’s second-biggest theater operator, Cineworld/Regal, announced it was closing down all screens in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Cineworld chiefs have blamed the decision, which is expected to be a temporary measure until next year, on the postponement of big budget films in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
Next year: Warner Bros. was set to release the upcoming film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel on December 18 but will now reportedly be delaying things until October 1, 2021
Dune follows Paul Atreides, the son of a noble family entrusted with protecting the most valuable element in the galaxy, as they battle against their own ‘extermination’.
Atreides and his family embark on a trip to desert mining planet Arrakis to oversee the extraction of melange, the most valuable substance in the universe.
A royal decree awards Arrakis to Duke Leto Atreides and ousts his bitter enemies, the Harkonnens.
However, when the Harkonnens violently seize back their freedom, it is up to Paul, Leto’s son, to lead the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis, in a battle for control of the planet and its spice.
Industry in peril: The postponement follows the news that movie theater giant Cineworld and Regal Cinemas were shuttering because of the pandemic
In the trailer, fans see Paul begin to train for his battle when he is put to a terrifying test by a veiled teacher, Gaius Helen Mohiam, played by Charlotte Rampling.
‘The test is simple,’ she says revealing a small dark box. ‘Remove your hand from the box and you die.’ A razor sharp needle is held to his throat by the woman as he slides his hand into the contraption.
‘What’s in the box?’ he calmly asks despite the risk of death. The answer: ‘Pain.’
While fans don’t see the evils inside of the small device, it’s evident that something horrifying is happening as Paul lets out a blood curdling scream.
Plot: Dune follows Paul Atreides [Chalamet], the son of a noble family entrusted with protecting the most valuable element in the galaxy, as they battle against their own ‘extermination’
Gaius Helen Mohiam is the ‘leader of the powerful all-female secret society known as the Bene Gesserit, has come to the planet Caladan to test young Paul Atreides,’ according to EW.
The outlet spoke with director Denis Villeneuve about the action packed trailer and he explained that her grotesque challenge with the needle and box is one of the most important turning points for the story.
‘Is the mental part of him stronger than the animal part? That was very important for [Dune author] Frank Herbert,’ Villeneuve explained.
‘At some point in the Dune history, the human brain will reach a level of control where there’s no more computers in that universe, so the brain is trained to be able to make insane calculations and have control over your body.’
Guide: Brolin’s character Gurney Halleck trains Paul for battle in the trailer for the film which was released by Warner Bros. last month
The director added: ‘Paul, having some Bene Gesserit training, needed to be tested to see if he can use this power for the good of humanity.’
The full trailer gave fans their first real horrifying look at the sandworms in action, rising from the ground like a giant succubus.
‘I must not fear, fear is the mind killer,’ Paul says at the end of the trailer.
The look of the sandworms have been digitally upgraded from the 1980’s film and are just sucking, holes with stringy rows of teeth destroying things in its path.
What to expect: The full trailer gave fans their first real horrifying look at the sandworms in action, rising from the ground like a giant succubus
While speaking with EW, the director called the sandworm: ‘a fantastic central figure of Dune’s story that massive creature that lives in the deep desert, so when we were creating the worm I tried to create a lifeform that you will totally believe can go and survive in this land.’
‘So of course it has to have some prehistoric quality to it, because it’s living in the most rough environment. It was a lot of dreaming. We took our time with it,’ he explained.
‘I deeply love the worm we came up with. It was important for me to understand that this huge creature has a soul, to understand that it is revered as a god-like figure.’
Yikes: While speaking with EW, the director called the sandworm: ‘a fantastic central figure of Dune’s story that massive creature that lives in the deep desert, so when we were creating the worm I tried to create a lifeform that you will totally believe can go and survive in this land’
Dune was written by Frank Herbert in 1965 and was named in 2003 as the best-selling science-fiction novel of all time.
It was previously adapted into the 1984 feature film of the same name by writer-director David Lynch, starring Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides.
There was also a 2000 mini-series adaptation that starred William Hurt.
This new Dune adaptation is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival), from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth (Munich) and Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange).
Adaptation: This new Dune adaptation is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival), from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth (Munich) and Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange)