My anticipation level for this movie (or will it be franchise now?) was high enough when Villeneuve was announced as director coming off the back of modern sci-fi classics in Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, and if we look back further, Villeneuve has not made a bad movie yet with Sicario and Prisoners also on his filmography.

The Duniverse (that is, the Dune Universe), whose life began with the publication of Frank Herbert's original masterpiece in 1965, is a lush wonderland of possibilities, despite its arid world of inception. One character in particular single-handedly explores a majority of those possibilities on his own: Duncan Idaho. I have never had the great pleasure of looking at Mr. Herbert's original manuscripts, so I cannot tell you exactly when Herbert decided that Duncan Idaho, not “the Atreides,” was the main character of his Dune books. But rest assured that he is, and any further reading by anyone who has not finished the main Dune series (that is up through the end of Sandworms of Dune) will be riddled with spoilers.

Dune, Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction masterpiece and the series that followed, should be the cinematic master series of the 21st century. In a cinema culture dominated by the continuing Star Wars series and the ever-present Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Expanded Universe, Herbert's Dune series stands with at least seven possible main series movies and even more prequels and expansions already written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Herbert's legends represent a much beloved yet mostly untapped potential pool of multimedia products. With Legendary Entertainment's acquisition of film rights, we may well stand to get the first successful film adaptation of this epic saga.

Dune has become one of the biggest names in sci-fi history. It has spawned a series of books, several movies and shows, and also created a number of major pop culture shifts that are undeniable to those "in the know."

Dune is one of the most influential sci-fi series of all time. The book series inspired both television shows and movies. In fact, one of the most influential movies that was never shown in theaters was a film based on Dune.

Dune is one of the most famous science fiction books to ever be published, and also spawned a series of movies and television shows by the same name. This has led to a number of visual masterpieces under telling the story of Dune, including a movie by Frank Herbert as well as a legendary never-produced movie by famed director, Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Arrakis. Dune. Desert planet.

Fabrice Giger is easily one of the most influential trailblazers in the comic book world, yet many fans and professionals don’t know his story. In 1988, at the age of 23, he purchased Humanoids, Europe’s renowned comic book publisher. Since then he has worked with some of the industry’s most visionary legends, such as Jean Giraud (Moebius), Enki Bilal, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott, overseeing the development of cutting edge properties that have pushed the boundaries of the comic book medium and science fiction. The catalog he’s shepherded includes: The Incal, Metal Hurlant, The Metabarons and much more. Giger revolutionized the approach to how graphic novels are printed, treating each book as an individual work of art meant to stand out on the reader’s shelf. He has also made great strides in changing the rules of the industry. I had the opportunity to sit with him to discuss his legacy and the future of Humanoids.

When I was a kid, I used to be enthralled by reruns of those Ray Harryhausen Sword and Sandal epics like Jason and the Argonauts and Sinbad, which featured a fearless hero embarking on a quest and fighting terrifying monsters. A decade later, I was equally enthralled when George Lucas' Star Wars hit the big screen, for very much the same reason. And it seemed to me that, other than triremes being replaced by spaceships, and swords by blasters or light sabers, there really wasn't much of a difference between these two.

Frank Herbert's Dune is one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written. Many say it is the Lord of the Rings of science fiction. It has inspired story tellers ever since its release over fifty years ago. Without it, we wouldn't have Star Wars.

In the below excerpt from Film Fantasy Magazine, Ed Sudden II interviews Alien co-creator Dan O'Bannon. In excerpt, O'Bannon recounts that the concept of the movie Alien began as a simple story called “Gremlins”. I was about a World War II B-17 bomber crew on a mission over Tokyo who are terrorized by a horde of midget monsters. Dan O’Bannon began his career as the the co-author and director responsible for design, editing, and special effects on the movie Dark Star. He also co-starred as Sgt. Pinback. Pinback’s scenes with his alien, a mean-looking and very mischevious beach ball with feet are notable high points of humor in sci-fi film history. Dan went from Dark Star to pre-production work on Jodorowsky’s Dune, the Frank Herbert novel, to effects work on Star Wars and his most iconic movie Alien.

Once you’ve watched a few fan edits (also known as fan cuts) of commercially released feature films, you come to appreciate the extraordinary power of editing to change a movie. I found that particularly true with David Lynch'sDune.