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Dune movie 2020

The famous science fiction novel Dune makes the leap to the big screen. Dune has been a huge influence not only in science fiction genre but a cultural influence itself, inspiring films such as Star Wars, or songs like “to tame a land” by Iron Maiden. Aren’t you amazed by this Dune upcoming movie? Dune 1984 was a really good job, Denis Villeneuve has a challenging deal but for what we have seen before this director fears nothing.

What is Dune about

Dune is a science fiction novel written by American author Frank Herbert. This novel is set in a distant future in which humans colonized other planets and control them. Their society is ruled by Noble Houses, being similar to the feudal system in medieval Europe. All these houses owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor, the supreme sovereign of the known universe.

This book begins with the planet Arrakis, also called Dune, a desert planet which before was ruled by the noble house Harkonnen but now, due to the emperor’s orders, is ruled by House Atreides. Despite being a desert, this planet has a valuable product that makes it really coveted: melange (also known as “The spice”). Arrakis is the only source of mélange, a substance that not only enhances mental abilities but also provides a longer life span and, in some cases, future sight.

The duke, Leo Atreides realizes this new duty is too convenient but this is an opportunity he can’t deny. Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a 15-year-old who arrives on Arrakis as his father, the duke, has to rule it. It won’t be late after arriving that his father will be betrayed and killed. As a result, Paul becomes the duke, a duke in exile since house Harkonnen had plotted against his father to rule Arrakis once again.

If you are willing to read this series and you don’t know where to start, here you have my Dune reading order post which will prove very helpful.

When is Dune going to be released?

This new Dune movie will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, the director who also directed Blade Runner: 2049. The main character, Paul Atreides, will be featured by Timothee Chalamet who had roles in Call Me By Your Name and  Interstellar. The upcoming film will also have Dave Bautista, but his featured character is not yet confirmed.

This movie will only cover the first half of the book, so this is only the beginning of a new franchise. Seeing that The Hobbit had three movies, a trilogy for this story is to be expected, since Dune has a complex and wide world so there’s a lot to be told.

There is no release date yet as of right now. The movie will start filming in February 2019, so the release date should not be earlier than 2020.

Previous adaptations

This novel is probably not unknown for most of you since it had a previous film adaptation in 1984 directed by David Linch, and a miniseries in 2000 by John Harrison.

There are also video games based on this novel Dune II, a strategy game released in 1992 which was a success, ironically, this led to a remake in the 2000s and a sequel that turned out to be a failure and therefore the developer company, Cryo Interactive, went bankrupt.

Hope you liked this Dune summary. It is a good time to start reading Dune books, you have enough time to start reading them before the first Dune film gets released!

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Mortal Engines book to movie

 

The cinematographic adaptation of the Mortal Engines saga by Philip Reeve is now a reality. In this case, the first film is based on the first novel.  There is still a lot of story to tell, as there are still three books that will surely make reference in the next movies.

The actress Hera Hilmar and the actor Robert Sheehan, will carry out the role of protagonists in this novel of steampunk thematic. If you still don’t know the plot of the series, you have to know that Mortal Engines is set in a post-apocalyptic universe and it’s part of the fantastic and adventure genre. The film tells the story of how two of the main characters end up crossing their paths in a ruthless world. A dangerous fugitive, played by Hera, and a surviving orphan, Robert Sheeran, are two young people quite opposed in terms of ideas but the circumstances of the moment and the desire to survive in a hostile environment, where cities have literally become predators, make them join forces to change the future.

Book-to-film adaptation

One of the main responsible for this book series adaptation to the world of cinema is one of its producers, Peter Jackson. The well-known film director is a great fan of the saga and wanted to bring his own version to the big screen. You might have noticed I refer this movie as a version, this is because the film is not entirely faithful to the saga. Not in plot terms, which it tries to maintain the same essence, but it has some changes that for the most demanding readers will not go unnoticed.

To begin with, the main characters are older than in the books. While in the novel they were young teenagers, in the cinema, we have somewhat older actors. In this way, the novel also grows in terms of maturity is concerned. Despite maintaining the same plot, you do notice the darkest atmosphere.  Having said this, it is obvious that the movies are aimed at a much more adult audience than the books.

Just for a better understanding, in 2002 this saga won The Gold award in Nestlé Children’s Book Prize (set of annual awards for British children’s books that ran from 1985 to 2007 according to Wikipedia)  in nine to eleven years old category. So yes, this book audience was originally for young teenagers, while the movies will be addressed to a more adult audience.

The success of Mortal Engines

Taking Mortal Engines to the cinema is not an easy feat.  This saga has so many awards that have made it one of the best in terms of children’s fiction novels, a lot of responsibility for the director and the producers.

Knowing how to convey all the magic that has made it worthy of these awards to, as we have said, a more adult world, is a rather complicated task that has turned Mortal Engines into a film with many expectations.

At the moment the producers are cautious about new releases.  Depending on the success of this first film,  they will make future decisions for the development and adaptation of the saga. Time will tell, but having Peter Jackson involved in this project is the key for sure.

 

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