Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic Dune has been going strong for decades, but although it’s been adapted several times — notably by David Lynch in the ’80s and Syfy in the 2000s — there has yet to be a version that really captures what makes the book great, and breaks through to the wider audience we know is out there.
That could change this year, when Denis Villeneuve’s movie version hits theaters. Villeneuve is the guy behind movies like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, so if there’s anyone equipped to tell a slow-burning, deliberate story about warring families in the far-distant future, it’s him.
At an event in France yesterday, Warner Bros. debuted what is, so far as we can tell, the logo for Villeneuve’s movie. The studio has also been going around removing it, but of course it’s notoriously difficult to get an image off the internet once it’s in there. Still, just keep this between us, okay?
The image of the sand dune behind the title may actually be a stock image — this could be a placeholder of some kind — but I dig the minimalist lettering. That’s just the letter ‘U’ flipped four different ways, with a lens flare on the last one to remind us that it’s supposed to be an ‘E’. I think it’s cool and elegant.
There are also images of a crew tee-shirt with this logo floating around:
This is a crew t-shirt with the Dune logo. It could be legit. pic.twitter.com/lpcqim6JHu
— 𝐑. ä𝐥í | Secrets of Dune (@SecretsOfDune) January 29, 2020
Of course, take away the lens flare and you get a movie called DUNC. But that could be purposeful, too. The first Dune book revolves around Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the scion of a great house who is betrayed and must hide among the nomadic Fremen people of Arrakis, a desert planet known locally as Dune. But another major character is Paul’s fighting instructor Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), who has a big presence throughout the Dune series. Warner Bros. is looking to turn Dune into a long-running movie franchise, because of course they are. Maybe they’re making an investment in Duncan Idaho early on?
Chalamet and Momoa aren’t the only big names involved in this movie. The cast is absolutely stacked; other stars include Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, and more. Villeneuve isn’t playing around here.
We’ll get to see all these folk in action when Dune, Part I — yes, they’re splitting the first book up into two movies — lands in theaters on December 18.
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