‘Dune’ Trailer With Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Oscar Issac Lights up Social Media

On Wednesday, fans got their long-awaited trailer for the new adaptation of Dune, coming to theaters this December. The trailer was relatively well-received, though, as expected, the beloved sci-fi series has some die-hard fans who were not satisfied with what they saw. The trailer took over social media for the better part of the day.

Dune has had one of the strangest evolutions out of any media of its kind, beginning with the original novel published in 1965. A science-fiction fantasy, it takes place in a far distant future where humans have colonized multiple galaxies and function under a feudal system. It follows a young nobleman on a mystical journey onto a hostile planet that his ancestors were unable to truly conquer due to the massive sandworms that inhabit its surface. Author Frank Herbert wrote five sequels to the book, and his son Brian Herbert has since co-written 15 more books in the series, with more still coming out to this day.

The series has long since escaped the page, however, adapted into games, comics, and to the screen. Many commenters on Wednesday compared it primarily to the 1984 movie adaptation by director David Lynch, which is infamous for hosting the acting debut of singer Sting. Fans generally consider that version a poor adaptation of the source material, and many were excited by what they saw in the new trailer.

Others were less enthused. They noted that the new Dune trailer is less colorful, more gritty and, to them, lacked the character of the 1984 version. Many also criticized casting choices in the film — since Herbert was very clear about drawing inspiration from Islamic culture for the planet of Arrakis, they felt that more Muslim actors should have been cast in those roles.

Finally, one more common response to the Dune trailer was anxiety about the studio’s plan for release. The trailer ends by promising fans that it will be “only in theaters” in December of 2020. With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing and a vaccine at least a few months away, many fear the movie will be pushed back to 2021. A report by Deadline warns that this is not unlikely.

For better or worse, all of this helped Dune hold onto social media’s attention throughout the day on Wednesday. Here is a look at the responses it got.

First Look at the Worm

Denis Villeneuve

Timothee Chalamet

Parodies

Original Callbacks

Sting

Anticipation

Theater & Delays