The veil of secrecy has finally lifted from director Denis Villeneuve's long-gestating adaptation of Dune, the sci-fi masterpiece written by author Frank Herbert. This is the third adaptation of the mind-bending novel, following David Lynch's 1984 film and a 2000 Syfy teleivision miniseries.
Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Villeneuve's version -- it will be split into two films -- and it's absolutely loaded with important details.
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Paul's Dreams
The footage opens with protagonist Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalemet) on Caladan, dreaming of Chani (Zendaya), his future on the desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, and the coming crusade that will be waged in his name. Just like in the novel, Paul is a powerful psychic, the result of centuries of planned breeding, and potentially the Kwisatz Haderach, an engineered prophet, capable of seeing the future. His prescience is confirmed when Reverend Mother Mohiam asks, "Do you often dream things that will happen, just as you dream them?" to which Paul replies, "Yes."
The Gom Jabbar
The needle the Reverend Mother holds to Paul's neck is the infamous Gom Jabbar, coated with a quick-acting and lethal poison. This is an important early scene from the novel, in which Paul is unknowingly put through a life-or-death ordeal to determine whether he has the potential to become the Kwisatz Haderach.
He is forced to place his hand in the Box of Pain, a device that sends signals to the brain, making it feel as if his skin is being burned to a crisp. It's a test of fight-or-flight instincts, to prove he has the willpower of a thinking human and is not ruled by animal fear. If he removes his hand before the Reverend Mother allows him to, she will plunge the Gom Jabbar into his neck, resulting in instantaneous death.
Chani & The Fremen
We are given quick glimpses of Dune's native people, the oppressed Fremen. Chani is the daughter of Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) leader of the Fremen, and an acolyte of Stilgar (Javier Bardem), a seasoned Fremen warrior. They have spent centuries under the thumb of the brutal House Harkonnen, and they view the arrival of Paul and House Atreides with suspicion. The Fremen will become Paul's greatest allies, in time declaring him the Mahdi (messiah) and worshiping him through his Fremen name: Muad'Dib.
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Holtzman Shields
In the future world of Dune, personal force fields exist that render bullets ineffective and discourages the use of lasers, because the shield will cause an enormous explosion if struck. As a result, hand-to-hand combat, specifically knife-fighting, is the primary form of combat and warfare. Here, Paul trains with House Atreides battle master, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin). Paul is being taught the only way to get past a shield is to slow your knife blow at just the right time to bypass a shield.
The Bene Gesserit
The trailer provides glimpses of the Bene Gesserit, a powerful political organization comprised of a Sisterhood of psychics. They pull the strings behind the scenes, scheming over centuries to bring about the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul's mother, the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), is a Bene Gesserit who has fallen out of favor with her Sisterhood for choosing to birth Paul, a son, for her lover Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), as opposed to the daughter she was ordered to conceive. Jessica's choice is an act of rebellion that sets the entire story in motion.
Duncan Idaho Plays a Larger Role
Jason Mamoa makes a strong impression as Duncan Idaho, one of the Duke's most trusted soldiers, and Paul's childhood best friend. In the first novel, Duncan plays a very small but important role early in the story, establishing diplomatic relations with the Fremen and saving Paul from the betrayal that awaits his family. It seems that in the film, more time will be devoted to Duncan, which will help to heighten the impact of his character's tragic fate.
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Enter The Beast, Rabban
A terrifyingly pale Dave Bautista steps into the role of Glossu "The Beast" Rabban, nephew to Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) and leader of the Harkonnen forces on Dune. At the start of the story, he has been brutalizing the Fremen for years and is infuriated that the Emperor has taken Dune away from his family and given it to House Atreides. A bloodthirsty psychopath, the Beast lives up to his name and more. Much like Duncan Idaho, his role in the novel is actually fairly small and it seems the movie will be expanding him as well.
Shai-Hulud
No Dune trailer would be complete without the appearance of Shai-Hulud, the largest of the sandworms that live beneath the deserts of Arrakis.
Sandworms are sensitive to rhythmic vibration, so walking across the sands is nothing short of a death sentence, as these creatures will devour anything in their path. Wherever there is Spice, the elusive commodity found only on Dune, there are the worms. The Fremen worship Shai-Hulud as a god and know the true purpose of these deadly creatures within the ecology of Arrakis.
The Litany Against Fear
Toward the end of the trailer, Paul in voiceover recites part of The Litany Against Fear, a Bene Gesserit mantra used to remain calm in the face of danger. We only hear snippets of The Litany, which has been abbreviated in previous adaptations and appears to be in Villeneuve's version as well. Over the course of the novel, Paul turns to The Litany numerous times, and "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer" is one of the most famous quotes in all of Science Fiction.
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The Spice Must Flow
At the end of the trailer, we were given a glimpse of Melang, aka the Spice, a consciousness-expanding substance found only on Dune. It enhances the abilities of the Bene Gesserit, extends life, and helps the Spacing Guild Navigators to fold space and time, allowing for interstellar space travel. It is the linchpin of the human empire, with the common belief that whoever controls the spice, controls the universe. This makes the impoverished, barren world of Dune the single most important planet in the cosmos.
Where's Feyd-Rautha?
The most glaring absence from the trailer is Feyd-Rautha, Baron Harkonnen's other nephew and younger brother of Rabban. In the novel, he has a much larger presence than Rabban and like Paul, is another result of the Bene Gesserit breeding program and a potential Kwisatz Haderach. He is Paul's narrative foil: a dark and vicious reflection who craves only power. He was famously played by Sting in Lynch's 1984 adaptation, and his absence from the trailer, and no casting announcements, suggest there's a big surprise waiting.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, Legendary Pictures' Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet Kynes, Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Dave Bautista Glossu Rabban, David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Stephen Henderson as Thufir Hawat, and Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck. The film arrives in theaters Dec. 18.
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