The new sci-fi movie, Dune, is gaining traction even before its December 18, 2020 release date.  The film stars include many well-known actors like Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Zendaya (Chani Kynes), Oscar Isaac (Leto Atreides), and Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica).  Over the past year, lead actor Timothee Chalamet has been building anticipation for Dune as excited fans wait for another chance to witness his incredible talent, this time alongside the beloved Zendaya.  People circulated photos with him in taping locations, namely Budapest, Jordan, and Norway.  To continue, Dune is rooted in themes that bring awareness to ecological mortality.  It also enables the sense of timelessness of the book by bringing it to life on screen.

The film is set in the far off future and focuses on Paul (Timothee Chalamet) of the Atreides family that has been given control over the planet Arrakis by the Padishah Emperor.  Furthermore, the spice “melange” is highly sought out because it enhances cognitive abilities and allows for interstellar travel.  Arrakis, or Dune, is the singular source of melange.  The main conflict of Dune is the power struggle between House Harkonnen and House Atreides as they compete over the spice.  Underneath all this, viewers can see other struggles exhibited by those belonging to a nomadic tribe called Fremen.  On the barely hospitable planet, they constantly fight to survive the extreme heat of the desert and the giant creatures that lurk beneath the sand.  Paul finds his love interest, Chani, through learning more about the Fremen as he learns more about his heritage and abilities in a coming of age type of way.

The message of ecological mortality is especially relevant in 2020 because humans are now coming face to face with the effects of climate change.  This could be through the wildfires Californians are experiencing or the increase in hurricanes.  The planet Arrakis that the movie is set on has deadly heat that makes most of the surface very difficult to survive on.  This can be applied to the present day because of the growing issue of global warming.  The people with the most power also have the most influence, which can insinuate political party conflicts.  House Harkonnen and House Atreides’ fight for control over the melange spice could be compared to fight for control in government. 

“Dune” by Frank Herbert has inspired an array of major science fiction films, many of which are household names like Star Wars and Star Trek.  In a Wired interview, Andrea Kail stated that “reading “Dune” made [her] realize where [she] got [her] entire life philosophy from.”  New interpretations keep stemming from the 1965 novel and is now considered an ode to geopolitical issues across the world.  

This 2020 movie is an attempt to have a well-deserved, successful film coincide with the book after the original 1984 Dune that ended up being a box office flop.  The producers wanted to try to make it to a place where it is just as memorable as some of the other sci-fi movies that it was influenced by.  Between the undeniably prominent and accomplished cast and the array of people to whom the book has shaped, Dune is sure to be both profitable and memorable.