The Dune novel may have been director Denis Villeneuve's dream project to adapt, but it wasn't the first on the list for Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), as the screenwriter for last year's sci-fi epic shared that he was never a huge fan of Frank Herbert's source material.
The acclaimed 1965 Dune book takes place in the far future and follows the Atreides family accepting the stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis (also referred to as Dune), which contains the most valuable substance in the universe known as the "spice." But having control of a planet with so many riches means greater conflict for the family to face.
In a new interview with IndieWire, Roth, who co-wrote Dune with Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, said he was initially hesitant when he got the call from Villeneuve to work on Dune. "Then he asked, 'Would you be interested in doing ‘Dune?'” And I said, 'I don’t know. I’m not sure this is my bailiwick.'" Roth recalled. "I had read the book. I liked other science-fiction books at least equally: “Childhood’s End,” “The Foundation.” But “Dune” was a little populist for me, it was prodigious. I knew it had defined a lot of people, certainly 14-, 15-year-old boys, which I was close to at that point. But I was never a fanboy."
The interviewer added that not being a diehard fan was maybe a good thing, which Roth agreed with. "That’s right. That gave me an objective view of it. I grew up in that era, which “Dune” was part and parcel of — psychedelics and all the things that I lived through. I was a hippie, I have a lot of kids, grandkids. And so I said, “What the hell, I’ll try it. What have I got to lose?" the writer added. "I like Denis. He’s done some really good movies, very smart, a visualist. I said, 'I’ll give it a whirl, but I might be a bit out there for you people.'"
While he may have not been the biggest fan, what Roth and the other writers were able to cook up translated to something memorable on the big screen. Dune garnered over $400M at the worldwide box office during its theatrical run, an impressive amount considering the film was released during a pandemic, and was also met with rave reviews (as the film earned 10 Academy Award nominations). With a Dune: Part Two now officially in the works, Villeneuve and the rest of the team look to conclude Herbert's work in spectacular fashion.
Whether Roth returns to help write the sequel or not remains a mystery, but now gearing up to write Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon for Apple TV Plus, his work will continue to make its presence felt amongst moviegoers. As for Dune, what's even more impressive than the very talented crew is the star-studded cast, which includes big names like Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Zendaya as Chani, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet-Kynes, and Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban.
Dune is currently playing in theaters and is available on digital platforms.
Source: IndieWire