Later this month, Oscar Isaac will wrap up Poe Dameron’s story in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But fortunately, Isaac isn’t done exploring the far reaches of space. Isaac will star in the upcoming Dune remake as Duke Leto Atreides. This won’t be Hollywood’s first attempt at launching a franchise based on Frank Herbert beloved sci-fi series. Regardless, Isaac insists that with director Denis Villeneuve at the helm, the story is in more than capable hands.
In the original novels, Herbert wasted no time in describing the planet Arrakis’ unforgiving desert landscape, complete with violent dust storms and giant sandworms. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Isaac made it sound like audiences might be terrified by what they see onscreen.
“It’s just a wholly, wholly different thing,” said Isaac. “I couldn’t imagine anyone more suited for the tone of the original Frank Herbert novels than Denis. There are some things that are — for lack of a better word — nightmarish about what you see.”
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“There’s just this kind of brutalist element to it,” added Isaac. “It’s shocking. It’s scary [and] it’s very visceral. And I know that definitely between Denis and myself and [Timothee] Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson as the family unit, we really searched for the emotion of it. I’m beyond myself with excitement. I think it’s good to feel cool, unique, and special.”
Chalamet and Ferguson also star in Dune as Leto’s son, Paul Atreides, and his Bene Gesserit concubine, Lady Jessica, respectively. Currently, Warner Bros. and Legendary have big plans for the Dune brand. In addition to the burgeoning film franchise, the studios are also developing a spinoff TV series for HBO Max.
Dune will open on December 18, 2020.
Are you excited to watch Denis Villeneuve’s “nightmarish” take on Herbert’s Dune novels? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Dune (Penguin Galaxy)
