The casting process for the upcoming production of Dune from director Denis Villeneuve has largely been a real delight for me with some great actors and a real sense of physical presence for several of the male characters outside of the leading actor, which is by necessity. Now, my favorite character from within the series at large has been cast and they finally hit an area where I’m wary of it. Negotiations are underway to bring Jason Momoa to the project in the role of Duncan Idaho, who if I recall, doesn’t have an outsized role in the early work but does have a critical part to play. The character is utilized more later in the works that will never, ever, be adapted, so I’m not terribly worried on that front. It’s just hard to imagine that Momoa will go with a more traditionally viewed version of the character which wouldn’t go much for the whole long hair thing he’s got going. I think he’s got an ideal physical presence for it and the wicked humor could come through wonderfully.
The film previously cast Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
The first book has sold some twelve million copies in the 50+ years since its debut and it’s one that has been largely considered unfilmable because so much of it revolves on internal dialogue, politics, intrigue and other small elements. It is, in my thinking, the kind of ideal show for a premium cable network as it really does require the length of time to tell the tale and dig into the expansive cast. I actually began re-reading the books once again this year, something I seem to do every seven years or so, and am in the midst of Children of Dune so that I can get to my favorite of the core four with God Emperor of Dune. I can see how these can be filmed but it requires a kind of reinvention on the previous views of how to do it, moving away from some of the 60′s inspired visuals that populated Jodorowsky and Lynch’s attempts at the project for something a little more, weirdly to say, traditional but with the grand scope.
Plot concept: Set in the distant future, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides whose family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, control of Arrakis is highly contested among the noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family’s control of Arrakis.
