Get a sneak peak at a key scene from Dune 2020

Barring any complications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune will hit theaters on December 18, later this year. When it does, Timothée Chalamet will step into the role of Paul Atreides, a scion of a great house who must get to know the desert planet of Arrakis, or Dune.

Empire Magazine is gearing up to release more info about the movie, and gave us a taste today. This is Paul and his weapons teacher Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) getting onto an ornithopter:

“It’s Paul’s first contact with the deep desert, where he’s mesmerized by it,” said Villeneuve. “He has a strange feeling of being home. There’s a lot of action at this specific moment, and [it’s] one of the scenes in the movie that I’m starting to get pretty proud of.”

This scene makes me think of the bit from the first book when Paul insists on going into the desert with his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac). As with all the other photos we’ve seen, the shot looks fantastic, with a great sense of scale. If anybody is equipped to direct Herbert’s slow-moving, deliberate tale, it’s Villeneuve, who made his name helming brainy sci-fi movies like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. And the fact that the movie runneth over with big-name stars should only help it find an audience.

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