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Dune 2018 (19,20,21...)

The only problem I see is that once they get past Children of Dune they'll pretty much have to completely do the cast over for God Emperor, and again for Heretics. Well, Duncan Idaho of course will stay for the whole series, of course.

which has also been on of the issues doing an adaption of Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.
 
In related news, I thought I'd look up the DE online, see what people were selling it for. Most prices ranging $60-$250 and some crazy ones at $1800. But I found one store selling it for $10(!) so I jumped on it. Rated "Good" so we will see.
 
This is part of the reason why I would suggest skipping over GEoD. It only has two returning characters, one of them is cosplaying as Jabba the Hutt the whole time and the plot itself is paper thin. Even if the cast weren't an issue, you'd have a job getting a whole season's worth of drama out of that.

Heratics & Chapterhouse are much stronger in that regard with Darwi Odrade and Miles Teg being pretty strong leads. It may even be an idea to have the same actor who played Leto I to come back and play the older Miles. Indeed, he'd likely be to *only* returning cast member at this point as the latest Duncan ghola is still very young. It'd be later when Duncan is older and reversing roles with the young Teg ghola that the original Duncan actor could come back.

Now that I think about it, it might be possible to pull this trick with Odrade too by having her played by whomever played either Jessica or Chani, maybe even Irulan or grown up Alia. Plus if there are any flashbacks to Moneo & Siona they could similarly use actors who played their ancestors aswell. Might be a neat way of holding onto some familiar faces in the long run.
They'd probably need to do something different with them to avoid confusion though, like say drastically different hair or some subtle make-up work or something.

I disagree and God Emperor could be the one season which could prove a game changer season for the entire show.

God Emperor revealed, if subtly, what Paul was afraid to do.. sacrifice himself and become a tyrant and abomination for the sake of humanity. Humanity was stagnating at the time of Dune, innovation was nearly forbidden and everything was bogged down in tradition, laws and political structures. Humanity was on the path of extinction because everything that doesn't evolve is doomed to fail.

Paul saw this in his visions but he also so the pain he would have to inflict on humanity for them to get past the stagnation and he couldn't do it which is why Leto II did it.

Now this is a very philosophical approach to society and race psychology and not easy to sell to the general audience. Dune (and to a lesser degree Dune Messiah) are pretty straightforward.. easy to understand villains with Harkonnen and the Emperor on one side and the noble Atreides on the other, betrayal, combat and some backroom politics before Paul becomes Super-Sayajin, i mean Kwisatz Haderach, for some supernatural elements to make the audience go "Kewl!!" and in the end he deposes the Emperor and establishes a new power structure.

However even in this you start to sprinkle in signs of social decay and stagnation and that it causes problems, increase this in season 2 and 3 before culminating in season 4 with God Emperor and revealing what the Golden Path is actually about.

Now all this done right could be very expensive and a huge financial gambit if done right but it bears similarity to Game of Thrones which was also a big hit in book form and a defining series in the realm of Fantasy Literature but outside of this niche it was virtually unknown. The show became a hit on the strength of Martin's writing and the stellar cast and show adaptation and that is something uniqe.

I would like Dune take the same path and be as lucky.. the material is there, all it needs are the guts to take a risk and the right people to make it happen. I'm not very optimistic it may happen like GoT and repeat the success but i so wish it would.. at least i would be able to grin to my friends when they pester me for what would happen next because i'd be the only one who has actually read the books (now i can understand GoT readers who know shit would hit the fan and filmed their friends for reaction videos when they saw it on screen). :lol::lol:
 
God Emperor revealed, if subtly, what Paul was afraid to do.. sacrifice himself and become a tyrant and abomination for the sake of humanity. Humanity was stagnating at the time of Dune, innovation was nearly forbidden and everything was bogged down in tradition, laws and political structures. Humanity was on the path of extinction because everything that doesn't evolve is doomed to fail.

Paul saw this in his visions but he also so the pain he would have to inflict on humanity for them to get past the stagnation and he couldn't do it which is why Leto II did it.

Strongly disagree with this interpretation.

Yes, humanity was stagnating (genetically) at the beginning of Dune. That was the reason for Paul's Jihad. To end the stagnation. It's why the Jihad didn't even need Paul, he could have died on he way to Sietch Tabr that first trip and the Jihad still would have occurred with him as a martyr. It was an unconscious yearning in all humanity to mix it's genes. This is expressly stated in the first two novels. Paul's birth and life were the product of this unconscious genetic yearning. He is literally the physical embodiment of rejection of stagnation.

When Leto takes over he enforces a new stagnation, an artificial one, that contravenes the wild mixing of genes his father inspired. This stagnation, a much greater one than seen in the empire before Paul, would lead to the typhoon struggle.

Either humanity would survive this artificially induced stagnation and explode across the galaxy in a new exodus, exploring the furthest reaches of space or they would all die and humanity would go extinct.

Paul's fear was not being hated. Paul had no qualms about inflicting pain. He's a Fremen. Pain is expected. Paul's rejection of the Golden path is because he didn't think humanity would survive it.

"Stagnation! Death!" Are the words Paul uses in the desert when Leto confronts him about the Golden Path.

What was the biggest lesson drilled into him by Gurney and Duncan as revealed near the end of the first novel? That stagnation = death. Never tie yourself to one location. Always keep moving. How did he survive the Harkonnens invasion? By moving, quickly and constantly, leading a guerrilla war. How did he defeat the Harkonnens and Saurdakeur? By forcing them into one location where he could attack with will.

Paul thought humanity would die, so he rejected the Golden Path.

Leto thought humanity would survive, so he accepted the Golden Path.
 
Well it seems i've read a different book :)

It may be that Paul was not concerned about personal pain (though he was also reluctant to start the transformation to the Worm/Human hybrid via application of the sand trouts) but he most likely wanted to prevent the pain to humanity that the Golden Path would inevitably cause.

However i have to admit it may be time to read the books again.. i read them as a teenager the first time and many themes went over my head at the time. Reread them sometime in my twenties and many things became clearer ;)
 
Well it seems i've read a different book :)

It may be that Paul was not concerned about personal pain (though he was also reluctant to start the transformation to the Worm/Human hybrid via application of the sand trouts) but he most likely wanted to prevent the pain to humanity that the Golden Path would inevitably cause.

However i have to admit it may be time to read the books again.. i read them as a teenager the first time and many themes went over my head at the time. Reread them sometime in my twenties and many things became clearer ;)

I can't even count how many times I've read them now. There is always something new.

I think your memory is merging the two stagnation periods. The stagnation at the start of Dune is stopped by Paul's Jihad. It's ended by the time of Messiah.

Leto's Golden Path is another period of enforced stagnation after Paul's wild mixing of genes.

Your opinion on Paul being too afraid or weak to take the Golden Path is valid and common and is based on an exchange Leto has with another (I can't remember who) but I believe is a misrepresentation of Paul. The Atreides lie, unless they are talking with each other.

The desert scene where Paul meets his son is the key. This is a scene where Paul and Leto are alone in the desert. No one else. Two people with the best truthsense in the imperium, with prescient vision, and Leto has Paul's memories up until Leto's conception. There is no lying. No manipulation.

This exchange is a battle of visions, and what is Paul's response to the Golden Path in a moment he can't lie to a person who knows his mind?

Two words.

"Stagnation! Death!"

Not fear for the transformation or destruction of his legacy . Not pain. Stagnation. The one thing he was born to end.

It goes back to Messiah when the conspirators decide the only way to kill Paul is to make him into the antithesis of everything he stands for. They were right.

The Golden Path's stagnation is his antithesis. And it kills him.
 
One of the writers for tonight's episode of Supergirl must have a deep sci-if knowledge given two of the characters where discussing Lynch's Dune.
 
One of the writers for tonight's episode of Supergirl must have a deep sci-if knowledge given two of the characters where discussing Lynch's Dune.
I wouldn't necessarily classify that as "deep sci-fi knowledge." The writer(s) could be Dune fans, or just fans of David Lynch in general.
 
Last night, as part of a 24-hour sci-fi movie marathon in Columbus, I got to see both Dune and Jodorowsky's Dune on the big screen!

I'm a big fan of the Lynch film, so I was thrilled to finally see it on the big screen after all these years.
 
^It was a joke.

A pre-spice mass was a wild organic growth which arose deep under the surface of the desert on Arrakis. The culture was fungusoid in nature, and occurred when water mixed with the excretions of a little maker, a young sandworm.

The combination eventually created considerable pressure, which forced it to the surface of the planet as a spice blow. Its material was then transformed into spice melange by exposure to the sun and the air.
http://dune.wikia.com/wiki/Pre-spice_mass

The Amazon contains a lot of water. Never mind, I'll get my coat...
 
Even with a $40 million budget, the Lynch version struggled with the technical side of the movie. While some things look terrific, in general, the FX are very uneven. Aside from the usual things the sequel needs, ie: a good screenplay adaptation, good acting, the new movie will probably have a better time of it conveying the universe to us.
 
Wait..... sequel? I thought this was going to be another adaptation of the first book. Or are you talking about a second movie if this one is successful?
 
I really like the philosophical/existential underpinnings of GEoD....but like the rest of original Herbert books you can see how it's a real challenge to dramatise. The Herbert fils/Anderson books are so much easier, but equally so much more superficial.
 
I'd say he's a pretty strong writer, with a lot of different styles and tones in his catalogue. The only straight up piece of rubbish is The Postman, but I'm want to lay that piece of flaming garbage on the doorstep of its "auteur" Kevin Costner. Not to discredit writers in any way, but the Hollywood machinery very much demands that the writing (especially adaptations) match the tone of the director and the will of the Production Company. Being able to work with the likes of Zemeckis, Spielberg, Fincher, Mann shows great fluidity and malleability, which is pretty key in his industry. Plus, typically, these people don't work with chumps (unless you're forced to take notes from George Lucas...)

What makes me interested is, thus far, the director Villeneuve has shown a real thoughtfulness in his work and a willingness to work side-by-side with his writers to find the best way to make the story and characters work. This, added with Roth's versatility, pushes the production in an interesting direction for me.

But then, he is writer #1... with, what will likely be a massive production, I doubt he will have the sole writer's credit once the film is released.

Hugo - fascinated, cautious, intrigued, trepidatious, ready and waiting
 
^I know I'm in the *vast* minority, but I actually rather enjoyed 'The Postman'. Haven't seen it in years though, so no clue if it still holds up for me.

What may be relevant here (and somewhat concerning) is that both 'The Postman' and 'Forest Gump' are scripts he's adapted from novels that apparently (from hearsay since I've read neither, personally) bare next to no resemblance to the source material. Like, basically nothing besides the title, premise and some character names. Tone content and plot were supposedly next to unrecognisable.
Not encouraging if that's going to be his approach to Dune.
 
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