Dune could have been the new Star Wars though. Instead it lacks the kind of charismatic performances and tragic romance that could have pushed things beyond a dry psuedo-retelling of the books. How can he direct Dune Part Three when so much of the weird and wonderful was missing? It’s really only a warm-up or a pre-amble for the third book (and therefore fourth movie). Maybe he needs to examine why he loved The Empire Strikes Back and try again…
Then again with Dune all you have is Arrakis and the Spice. Its a great novel but its also very old.
Very old and yet still relevant. Wars over resources, religious wars, wars started by corrupt autocrats, these things exist still. Again this Dune new film series could have been the new SW, but such a thing doesn’t currently exist. The biggest flashiest sci-fi epics are either too shallow (Avatar) or too dumb (TROS) with nothing that captures the imagination in a new way.