PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING MOVIE RELATED CONTENT OR QUESTIONS

Hey folks, seeing as how there are so many posts regarding the movie regularly hitting the front page of this subreddit - often with the same questions and answers being repeated in the comments - I decided to put together something a little more comprehensive. For those you of who have yet to read/finish the book, I've kept this post spoiler free but I can't promise the same for the comments below.

What's the timeline?

What we know so far about some key milestones:

Release Date: 12/18/2020*

Filming Wrapped for Budapest, Hungary (and presumably the entire film): July 20th 2019

Filming Wrapped for Jordan Desert Location: April 26th 2019

Principal Photography Started: March 18th 2019

Script Finalized: August/September 2018

Pre-Production Began: July 2018

*As far as we know this release date has not been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Official Logo Poster

https://preview.redd.it/ub6wyspim7z41.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b28632598d6404714c81d633fbf36ea1b06cc9e

Official Synopsis

From the March 18th 2019 press release:

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Official Stills Released So Far

A collected album of all official stills and images released to date.

Major Interviews and Articles

Vanity Fair First Look - Introduction to Dune and Paul Atreides

Vanity Fair Exclusive Look - Shooting in the Desert & Changes to the Source Material

Empire Magazine Online Exclusive - Paul as Godfather's Michael Corleone

Empire Magazine Print Magazine Spread - Sandworm Design & Shooting in the Desert

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Who's involved?

Here are the people who have been confirmed:

Cast

Notable Uncasted Roles³: Princess Irulan, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Shadout Mapes, Emperor Shaddam IV, Count Hasimir Fenring, Lady Margot Fenring, Esmar Tuek.

Crew

Other Notable Contributors

Footnotes

¹ Charlotte was once quoted as saying the one book she'd bring to a desert island was Dune, but turned down an earlier opportunity to star in an adaptation when Jodorowsky asked her to be Lady Jessica.

² Bardem is a fan:

I read the first three books, and, of course, I saw David Lynch's film. I'm going to be turning 50 on March 1st, so I saw David Lynch's film, which I loved. I remember the day I saw it in 1984, I think, and it was weird! And I loved it! It was big and weird, and those sandworms!

³ Several roles in this list might have very brief screentimes or be omitted entirely from the first film due to the characters not being significant to the plot until much later in the book. For this reason, I chose not to include Alia. That, and the fact that there aren't many actors worth noting <5 years old.

⁴ Jon Spaihts is likely who was brought in when Eric Roth realized he couldn't shorten his 200-page script.

⁵ Hans Zimmer is also a huge Dune fan and was an obvious choice because of his prior working relationship with Denis from Blade Runner 2049 and the fact that he's worked on Legendary Pictures before with Christopher Nolan. He's definitely got a 'big-budget' sound that makes sense here.

⁶ Unfortunately Roger Deakins is not partnering up with Denis again for this one. Considering that the two of them are 3 for 3 with getting Oscar nominations every time they work together, this makes me sad. Greig has big shoes to fill, but I'm optimistic.

⁷ Seasoned Conlanger who created the Valyrian and Dothraki languages for Game of Thrones. He's confirmed that he's working on "more than one thing" so we're presumably talking about Chakobsa (the Fremen language) and something else.

⁸ Concept artist specializing in creature designs. Known for creating the design for the aliens in Denis' prior work, Arrival. He's explained that his work for Dune has been pretty minimal. I'm thinking Guild Navigators.

⁹ Concept artist specializing in vehicle designs. Ornithopters and spice harvesters, anyone? He's also a fan.

Where is it being shot?

Confirmed filming locations:

1. Budapest, Hungary

Budapest is considered the primary shooting location for the film. Denis will once again be working with Origo Film Studios who provided many of the stages and facilities used in the shooting of Blade Runner 2049. Budapest will likely be the shooting location for the majority of indoor scenes ranging from the Atreides stronghold on Caladan to Fremen sietches and Harkonnen interiors.

2. Wadi Rum, Jordan

Jordan is a very popular filming location for movies set in the desert. Hurt Locker, The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, Aladdin, and Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade were all shot in Jordan. As is the upcoming Star Wars movie. Odds are good that the majority of external scenes set in the Arrakeen desert will be shot in the numerous deserts of Jordan. Update: Numerous social media posts have indicated that many scenes are being shot at Wadi Rum desert.

3. Arabian Desert, United Arab Emirates

It's been confirmed that some of the shooting was done in the remote desert regions outside of Abu Dhabi. Due to the distinct natural conditions of Jordan and the UAE, it's likely two different desert filming locations were needed to cover a wider range of geographical formations for shooting.

4. Stadlandet, Norway

Thanks to some detective work, we've been able to determine that at least some of the exterior shots of Caladan were shot in Norway, specifically along the Stad peninsula.

Things Worth Noting

Some information to keep in mind over the next 600+ days:

1. Denis loves Dune.

I'll let this quote from an interview back in early 2017 speak for itself:

Since I was 12 years old there was a book I read, which is ‘Dune,’ which is my favorite book, with ‘1984.’ After ‘Prisoners,’ the producer of Alcon asked me what I would like to do next. I said, ‘Dune,’ spontaneously, that if anyone could get me the rights for ‘Dune’ — and I knew it was very difficult to get those rights. For me it was just a dream, and I guess I’m lucky that Mary Parent from Legendary got the rights and offered it to me. I can’t say no to that. I have images that I am haunted by for 35 years. I will not say no to that. That’s going to be the project of my life.

When asked about the idea of creating an alien-planet space adventure in a world where Star Wars already exists:

Most of the main ideas of Star Wars are coming from Dune so it’s going to be a challenge to [tackle] this. The ambition is to do the Star Wars movie I never saw. In a way, it’s Star Wars for adults. We’ll see.

When asked about his adaptation's relationship with the 1984 David Lynch adaptation:

David Lynch did an adaptation in the '80s that has some very strong qualities. I mean, David Lynch is one of the best filmmakers alive, I have massive respect for him. But when I saw his adaptation, I was impressed, but it was not what I had dreamed of, so I'm trying to make the adaptation of my dreams...It will not have any link with the David Lynch movie. I'm going back to the book, and going to the images that came out when I read it.

2. It's a two-parter.

The first movie is only going to cover part of the first novel. There's been no specific information released as to where the cut-off point is going to be, but many fans have speculated that the 2-year time skip that occurs between the 2nd and 3rd 'books' in the novel would work well as a natural stopping point. Others point to Paul and Jessica's first introduction to the fremen tribe as a likely stopping point. Given that Chani, Jamis and Harah have all been cast, all evidence now points towards the two-year time skip being the endpoint for the first movie. This is further reinforced by this quote from Legendary CEO Joshua Grode:

Also, when you read the book there's a logical place to stop the movie before the book is over.

Unfortunately, the two movies are not being filmed together. Likely as a result of witnessing Bladerunner 2049's lackluster box office performance, the studio has decided that it'd be too risky and expensive to go in on two movies at once. Therefore, a second movie is not guaranteed. Although, with the cast list so full of A-list actors in high demand, I'm sure it's already occurred to someone at Legendary how much of a headache it'd be to get everyone together again for a sequel without having at least a year to sidestep any potential scheduling conflicts.

UPDATE: In this interview, the head of Gale Force Nine (the group re-releasing the 1979 Dune board game in the near future) talks about the second part coming out a year after the first in November 2021. If you're feeling optimistic, you can interpret this as an accidental leak of an internal decision at Legendary to actually commit to the 2nd movie. Otherwise this is in all likelihood just baseless speculation unfortunately stated as fact.

3. First book only...for now.

Even if we set aside whether the sequels are suitable for the big screen, I think it's conspicuous that I can't find a single instance of Denis mentioning any of the books beyond the first one. Sure, an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but until we can at least rule out the possibility that he hasn't even read any of the sequels, I'm willing to wager there are only plans to adapt the first book in this film series. Since this whole thing is largely powered by Denis' vision and reputation, it's hard to see it going anywhere else if he's not on board.

4. Brian Herbert is involved...somewhat.

The late author's son is listed as an executive producer on the Dune (2020) IMDb page. If you look through his Facebook page and tweets you'll see that he talks a great deal about his involvement in the "five major areas of products and productions under development in the Dune franchise", ironing out legal contracts, and commenting on drafts of the screenplay. Odds are good that his creative input is only being taken out of courtesy as he is the inheritor of his father's estate. However there is no real way to determine the extent of his influence and involvement on the film.

5. MPAA rating is TBD.

It might seem like an insignificant detail, but I see it as an early indicator...of sorts. Dune is a big gamble, and in the film industry that means the siren song of compromise is bound to be playing in the office of a studio executive somewhere. In a perfect world, Legendary would let Denis do whatever he wants with zero creative interference, but he’s not exactly known for his track record of four-quadrant films so alas, there are a number of factors likely to interfere with that outcome.

The poor box office performance of Dune (1984). Hard sci-fi’s inherent reputation as a ‘niche’ genre. Denis' previous film (and first big-budget feature) Bladerunner 2049 costing Alcon Entertainment $80 million dollars in losses. Bringing on Jon Spaihts to slim down the screenplay. cough Zendaya. cough I could go on. It’s entirely possible we might end up with a watered down version of Dune meant to appeal to the more ‘water-fat’ movie-goers among us.

Now, a PG-13 rating wouldn’t be a conclusive indicator of studio interference, after all aside from a few scenes with the Baron there’s not much explicit content in the book itself. Not to mention Denis’ vision for Dune is at least partially rooted in his memories of reading it in his youth. But an R-rating (which I personally find unlikely) would be a clear vote of confidence from the studio and a sign that they are letting him do his thing.

A note from me to you: Congrats! You made it to the end and now you know all there is to know. I'll be keeping this post updated as new information comes to light. Please shoot me a private message if you think there's anything currently missing from here or if you spot any inaccuracies. If something crops up in the future and it's not reflected here in a reasonable time (I'll let you be the judge of that), please also feel free to let me know.