Sci-fi Literature Archives - The Wide Screen

May 4, 2023

1st Trailer For “Dune: Part Two” Teases War On Arrakis

The massive success of Denis Villeneuve’s brutally austere sci-fi epic Dune made Paul Atreides a household name and put the desert planet of Arrakis on the map, something that no previous adaptation of Frank Herbert’s esoteric 1965 novel has managed to accomplish, so it should come as no surprise that Paul and his supporting cast of vaguely-characterized yet vividly real allies and antagonists will be returning to movie theaters later this year for Dune: Part Two, the middle-chapter of a planned trilogy (augmented by television spin-offs) that ought to ultimately surpass Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings in terms of scale – although something tells me that even Villeneuve will have a hard time convincing general audiences and many critics that capping off his trilogy with an adaptation of Dune Messiah, the first of Dune‘s increasingly bizarre sequels, was a smart move.

Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani, standing side-by-side against a dusty orange background, wearing matching gray, form-fitting, full-body uniforms. Paul holds a knife horizontally over his head in his right hand, and has a flowing black cape. — Paul Atreides and Chani | yahoo.com

Dune: Part Two, on the other hand, is a box-office hit just waiting to happen, and it’s not just because Zendaya will actually have screentime in this one. Assuming it stays fairly close to the source material (and my understanding is that Villeneuve doesn’t have any intention of diverging greatly from the narrative), Dune: Part Two will contain all the plot-beats expected of a finale, including a battle unlikely to be dwarfed anytime soon that most people looking no further than the book’s synopsis on Wikipedia would tell you is the culmination of the story’s driving conflict; the showdown between Paul Atreides and his father’s killer, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen of House Harkonnen. So I have no doubt that the vast majority of people leaving the theater come November 3rd will feel satisfied with what they will mistakenly perceive as the natural “ending” to the series, and that when they inevitably ask for spin-offs, what they won’t have in mind is what Frank Herbert wrote into Dune Messiah, a book that acts as a gatekeeper, denying most readers access to the rest of the series. My dim recollection is that I only made it through by page-skimming (I’m not proud of it, okay), and then I gave up less than halfway through Children Of Dune.

But Villeneuve’s Dune Messiah is still a long way away, and between then and now those of us who have read the books (or in my case, just enough of the books to say I tried, and little enough to prove I wasn’t a fan) will have plenty of time to prepare the film-only fans in our life for what’s ahead. In the short run it’s easy enough, deceptively easy, for anyone and everyone who watched Dune to predict where Dune: Part Two is headed, which is all to the film’s benefit. As you may remember, Dune ended with the remnants of House Atreides, a clique of conventionally attractive colonizers, scattered far-and-wide across the hostile deserts of Arrakis, which would be a fair and fitting ending to them all if only their successors weren’t the Harkonnens, an even worse bunch. But even in exile, Paul Atreides and his mother Jessica still think like colonizers. By choosing to hide amongst Arrakis’ indigenous people, the Fremen, Paul and Jessica are all but forcing them to choose a side in the coming war between the two Houses, though neither side is particularly concerned with what happens to the planet, much less the Fremen, as long as they come out on top.

As we see in the trailer, the Harkonnens have an obvious advantage when it comes to military might and the sheer amount of resources at their disposal. Crucially, they now control the flow of spice, a precious substance only found in the sands of Arrakis that enables space-travel and gives the planet its unparalleled value to the rest of the Known Universe, compelling the Emperor himself to kneel before its merchants. But Paul’s got something they haven’t got. Paul has worms.

Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, standing with his back to the camera, silhouetted against a white oval in an otherwise darkly-lit room, holding two long knives loosely at his sides. He is bald, and his head is tilted downwards. He wears flexible armor, and a long skirt. — Feyd-Rautha | joblo.com

Let me rephrase that. Paul has giant worms. Nope, still not working. Paul has giant sandworms. Better? Better. The giant sandworms that slither deep beneath the surface of Arrakis, producing spice, are at the center of the intricate spider-web that is Dune‘s mythology, and learning how to ride them and communicate with them as the Fremen do is a transformative event in Paul Atreides’ life. My possibly controversial opinion about the sandworms is that no adaptation of Dune, neither Villeneuve’s nor Lynch’s, has ever successfully conveyed the staggering sense of enormity, grandeur, and mystery that accompanies every appearance of the sandworms in Frank Herbert’s novel, which has always disappointed the child in me who first read Dune (back when I was far too young to truly understand the book) solely for the sandworms, and who’s waited a long time to feel all those sensations again upon seeing them erupt from the sand. I don’t know if Villeneuve’s sandworms are too small, or too crusty-looking, or if I just dislike their design, but they remain the most underwhelming aspect of an otherwise stunning film.

Everything else on his Arrakis, everything man-made at least, is massive and majestic, from the sand-encrusted ziggurats that scrape against the heavens to the donut-shaped starships that transcend them. We see plenty more of that aesthetically distinct, Oscar-winning production design on display in the trailer for Dune: Part Two, and with so many new worlds and new areas of Arrakis to visit in the sequel it’s very likely that the team headed up by Patrice Vermette will find themselves nominated once more, alongside costume designers Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan, who have compiled a bleakly elegant wardrobe of prickly metallic gowns and headdresses for Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan, a minor character in the first book, excerpts of whose writing are quoted by the author as if they were historical sources. Austin Butler, inexplicably wearing a bald-cap and painted blindingly-white for the role of Feyd-Rautha, is a slightly tougher sell, but that’s just another example of Villeneuve’s style and my mental image not perfectly aligning.

Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, standing against a dark brown background with floating sand particles creating a hazy effect, wearing a metal, gem-encrusted cap and veil that clings to the sides of her face and extends down her neck, where it meshes into the collar of her tunic. — Princess Irulan | pinkvilla.com

But all quibbles aside, I’m excited to return to Arrakis, and now I want to hear your takes on the trailer, the new characters introduced, and the future of the franchise after Dune: Part Two. How far into the series can Villeneuve make it before mainstream audiences give up? Share your own thoughts, theories, and opinions, in the comments below!

Trailer Rating: 8/10

July 22, 2021

“Dune” 2nd Trailer Takes Us Back To Arrakis

If The Lord Of The Rings was once considered unfilmable, then the same is doubly true of Frank Herbert’s Dune – a sprawling novel which is (arguably) to sci-fi literature what The Lord Of The Rings is to fantasy. Dune is a searing deconstruction of the hero’s journey, a complex, multi-layered, and not entirely successful non-comedic satire of the white savior narrative and its weaponization by imperialist forces and Christian missionaries, and besides all that it’s also an extremely dense and literary book, which is probably most popular outside of its actual readership because of the imagery of giant alien sand-worms, which the 1984 adaptation helped to make iconic to a larger audience.

But Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of Dune for Warner Brothers (and HBO Max) seeks to make the classic story mainstream – and if that goal is at all attainable, then the newest full-length trailer for the film, released today, ought to do the trick. It’s clearly trying to divide its focus between satisfying fans of the original novel and luring in general audiences who just want a fun sci-fi movie. Unfortunately for Warner Brothers, the words “fun” and “Dune” are hardly synonymous, which is why I think this trailer very carefully highlights all the VFX-heavy shots of spaceship battles and cool fight sequences, without providing much context about what fills the gap between those scenes. The answer? Lots of weighty conversations about theology, geo-economic warfare, and intergalactic geopolitical strategy.

Oh yeah, and the aforementioned giant alien sand-worms, known in-universe as the Shai-Hulud; but those go hand-in-hand with the subject of geo-economic warfare (and environmental degradation hastened by human interference) for…reasons. Without getting into spoilers, let’s just say the Shai-Hulud are important to the plot and themes of Dune, but they’re also not in the book anywhere near as frequently as the cover art would likely lead you to believe. And to be honest, I don’t know if they’re gonna be in the movie that much, either. We see the same one from the first trailer, rising above Paul Atreides in the desert at night, and one or two in a battle from near of the end of the movie, but that’s it.

(And not to sound too down on this movie, but the design of the Shai-Hulud isn’t really doing anything for me. Maybe I’ve just seen too much incredible and creative artwork of the sand-worms at this point for Villeneuve’s baleen whale/lamprey hybrid approach to seem fresh to me, but I don’t know…I expected something a little more majestic).

Honestly, if anything’s going to get general audiences into theaters to see Dune, it’s the film’s ensemble cast. Almost everyone here has their own legion of adoring fans, with stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya being exceptionally strong in that regard: it’s unsurprising that Zendaya’s character, the warrior Chani who falls in love with Chalamet’s Paul, appears to be the second-most important character in the movie – a deviation from the book, where that honor arguably goes to Paul’s mother, the Bene Gesserit sorceress Lady Jessica. But Rebecca Ferguson need not fear that her character will be entirely sidelined: a Dune spinoff series focusing on the Bene Gesserit is still in production at HBO Max, and just picked up a new showrunner in Diane Ademu-John. It will explore the efforts of the Bene Gesserit to plant the seeds of a messiah myth on the desert planet of Arrakis that will manifest itself in Paul Atreides.

Hopefully, that gives you some idea of why this book is so very controversial, and why the movie has to be responsible in the way it depicts both its “hero”, Paul, and his followers, the indigenous Fremen of Arrakis who are explicitly MENA (Middle Eastern and North African)-coded, and draw influences from vastly disparate cultures across the world, including those of Native American peoples. Is Dune a white savior narrative, or is that only a surface-level reading of the story? But even if it isn’t, does it ever do enough to dismantle the white savior narrative it props up in parody, or expose the root issue of white supremacy? In depicting the Fremen as victims of their own superstitious beliefs, who is Herbert calling out? These are just some of the complicated questions one could raise about Dune, and the answers are bound to vary depending on who you ask.

One thing is clear, though: that too much of this story is too deeply rooted in the (intentional and at least theoretically critical) appropriation of MENA culture and particularly religion for the film to not recognize or respect that either in front of the camera or behind the scenes. There are no MENA actors in major roles, and no MENA writers working on the script. That kind of oversight is concerning regardless of the source material, but it also suggests that Villeneuve isn’t really interested in exploring what Dune has to say about white saviors, or refining it any further by centering MENA perspectives in this adaptation. And that’s especially frustrating.

It’s unfortunate, too, because Dune looks incredible otherwise – the kind of visionary epic that could redefine the sci-fi genre of film for a generation, just as the original book did for literature. Villeneuve had at one point detailed his plans for a trilogy of Dune films matching the vast scope of Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings, and I can only hope that if this franchise is allowed to expand (that will depend on its box-office performance and success on HBO Max, of course), that he takes great care to renovate parts of Herbert’s books which are not perfect and can be improved upon.

Trailer Rating: 8.5/10

June 28, 2021

“Foundation” 2nd Trailer Review!

You’d think Apple TV+ would do a better job of promoting a show like Foundation. In a world where every new streaming service needs at least one or two major franchises to lure in subscribers and keep them around in expectation of sequels and spinoffs, Apple TV+ is still on the search for even one that has that potential. Foundation, meanwhile, is (loosely) based on one of the most successful science-fiction novels of all time, giving it the benefit of brand recognition and mainstream appeal. Lee Pace’s involvement certainly doesn’t hurt either, as the actor has recently become quite popular on social media.

Ultimately, the big question will be whether or not Asimov’s Foundation – a collection of short stories first published as a single book seventy years ago – has staying power in the 21st Century, when there is simply so much sci-fi media available for consumption. And Apple’s Foundation isn’t even adapting all five of the short stories in Asimov’s original collection, further diluting the fanbase; instead, a mostly original plot has been constructed around the events of the first and possibly second stories, but padded out to series length by reams of new content based on Asimov’s two prequel novels to Foundation, which he published much later in life. At this point, most fantasy and sci-fi plots are less convoluted and confusing than the meta narrative of what’s being adapted from what, and what’s wholly original.

Though that being said, the plot of the original Foundation is not exactly easy to wrap one’s head around, either – and I know no more about Prelude To Foundation or Forward The Foundation, Asimov’s Foundation prequels, than I did back when I reviewed the first trailer for this upcoming series. I’ve never read either book, unfortunately, so all I can say with absolute certainty is that the sprawling, multi-generational story of the saga begins near the very end of a 12,000 year Galactic Empire, which legendary psychohistorian Hari Seldon has determined will collapse in just 300 years, bringing about a dark age lasting 30,000 years. Foundation itself (which I have read; it’s fantastic, by the way) picks up with Seldon as he’s on trial for his theories. He informs the Empire that the best they can hope to do, since the present is unsalvageable and destined for ruin, is to compile all human knowledge into an Encyclopedia – the construction of which Seldon offers to begin, along with a group of loyal devotees. They become the titular Foundation.

There’s also a Second Foundation that gets set up in secret along the way, and it turns out that Seldon wasn’t entirely telling the truth about his motives, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers because I want general audiences to be surprised by whichever direction the show takes with the source material. I appreciate that the new trailer really hammers home the idea of not being able to save one’s present, only the promise of a future. That feels very genuine to the spirit of the books, and gives me hope that the series won’t just be a bunch of action scenes, and space battles, and political intrigue. Fascinating as those things all may be, they’re not what Asimov was really interested in exploring. On the other hand, I understand the need for structural changes: Foundation‘s first segment is basically a lot of exposition-heavy dialogue between Seldon and the mathematician Gaal Dornick, so it makes sense to disperse that exposition across the series and give Dornick a more active role as a protagonist.

I also really like that Dornick and several other major characters, some original and some from the books, are people – and particularly women – of color in this adaptation, diversifying what was originally a very white, and very male, story. For instance, both Dornick and the Foundation’s first Mayor, Salvor Hardin, are Black women, played by Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey, respectively. T’Nia Miller and Alfred Enoch also have large roles, although their characters seem to have been created for the show. Most of the characters are original, to be honest: even the main villain, the immortal emperor Brother Day, has no clear precedent in the books.

But Brother Day will be portrayed by Lee Pace – the biggest star attached to the series and the one most likely to lure in audiences unfamiliar with the actual source material (although I’d wager Enoch’s name still carries some weight with Harry Potter fans, and viewers of The Crown might tune in just for Jarred Harris’ Hari Seldon). Pace is very popular with a lot of people who know him from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Hobbit trilogy, and from his role in Pushing Daisies, and Twitter recently came to the consensus that he’s criminally underrated and doesn’t get enough work, so Foundation could be a good opportunity for fans to turn that noble sentiment into Apple TV+ subscriptions and streaming numbers.

Pace is also exceptionally good at playing villains, so this role is pretty much tailor-made for him – although to be honest, I totally get that he’s the “bad guy” because he’s trying to suppress Hari Seldon’s research and that his tyrannical rule is what’s causing the rapid descent of the Galactic Empire into chaos and ceaseless violence, but how bad can a 30,000 dark age really be, if it’s 30,000 more years of Lee Pace’s eyebrows? I just think we should consider what we’d be losing if we chose intergalactic peace and prosperity.

Brother Day’s ability to regenerate every so often means Lee Pace could easily bypass the infamous time-jumps between Foundation segments and become a recurring villain for future generations of Encylopedists. Call me a casual fan, but I wouldn’t have a problem with that – as long we still get to see The Mule at some point, because honestly Foundation And Empire is the entire reason I love the saga as a whole.

Trailer Rating: 7/10