Frank Herbert’s Dune novel released back in 1965 and would go on to expand the science fiction realm by not only gaining a film adaptation in 1984 but a video game installment too for PC in 1992. The adventure strategy title — sporting economic/military themes — was developed by Cryo and published by Virgin Games, but it looks like new video game entries in the Dune universe will continue alongside Denis Villeneuve’s forthcoming 2020 Dune film.
Whether you are a fan of Villeneuve or not — whose work spans from Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Arrival (2016), to Sicario (2015) and Enemy (2013) — the French Canadian film director will bring Herbert’s 20th-century sci-fi idea into the 21st century with the following cast:
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
- Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica
- Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides
- Zendaya as Chani
- Javier Bardem as Stilgar
- Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
- Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho
- Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam
- Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
- Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen
Although the cast might change moving forward, what is set in stone is Funcom diving into the Dune universe with a gaming deal with Legendary Entertainment and Herbert Properties LLC.
Over on funcom.com reads:
“The announcement comes as Legendary gears up for its already highly anticipated film adaptation of DUNE, directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, and featuring an all-star cast that now includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.
Development will begin in Funcom’s Oslo studio later this year.
“Funcom has a strong history of working with beloved sci-fi/fantasy intellectual properties including our bestsellers Age of Conan and Conan Exiles,” said Funcom CEO, Rui Casais. “So many of us at Funcom, myself included, are huge fans of Frank Herbert’s work and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Legendary and Herbert Properties LLC to bring the iconic DUNE universe to life for gamers all over the globe.””
Looking deeper into this deal that Funcom, Legendary Entertainment and Herbert Properties LLC struck up, website techradar.com claims that the former name has signed a six-year deal with Legendary Studios (a division of Legendary Entertainment), which will see the dev behind the recent Conan games put out at least “three new games” set in the Dune universe.
Lastly, the games are reported to land on PC and consoles, with rumors circulating that one of the three games is an open-world multiplayer Dune title.
