View source for Dune (novel)

{{short description|1965 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert}}
{{About|the 1965 novel|the related franchise|Dune (franchise){{!}}''Dune'' (franchise)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox book <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name              = Dune
| image             = Dune-Frank Herbert (1965) First edition.jpg
| caption           = First-edition cover
| author            = [[Frank Herbert]]
| cover_artist      = [[John Schoenherr]]
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| series            = [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' series]]
| genre             = [[Science fiction]]<ref name="Hanson"/><br/>[[Philosophical fiction]]
| publisher         = [[Chilton Books]]
| published         = {{Start date|1965|10|01}}<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite news |author=Anon. |title=New Books Received |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-new-books-received/178631692/ |work=[[Hartford Courant]] |date=August 19, 1965 |page=37 |quote=Dune – By Frank Herbert; Chilton Books; $5.95; (Oct.{{nbsp}}1).|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|ref=none}}|{{cite news |author1=Anon. |title=Futuristic Novel From Fairfax |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-independent-journal/33610199/ |work=[[Daily Independent Journal]] |date=October 2, 1965 |page=M16 |quote=Former Bay Area newspaperman Frank Herbert, a Marin County reisdent, is the author of the novel 'Dunes' {{sic}}, published this week by Chilton Books.|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|ref=none}}}}</ref>
| media_type        = Print ([[hardcover]] & [[paperback]])
| pages             = 412 (first edition)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/first-editions/frank-herbert-dune-philadelphia-new-york-chilton-books-1965-first-edition-octavo-xxvi-412-pages-includin/a/6069-30396.s|title=Frank Herbert. Dune. Philadelphia / New York: Chilton Books|publisher=[[Heritage Auctions]]|access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref><!-- First edition hardcover page count--><br>896 (paperback)
| isbn              = <!--NA-->
| followed_by       = [[Dune Messiah]]
}}
'''''Dune''''' is a 1965 [[Epic (genre)|epic]] [[science fiction]] novel by American author [[Frank Herbert]], originally published as two separate serials (1963–64 novel '''''Dune World''''' and 1965 novel '''''Prophet of Dune''''') in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]]'' magazine. It tied with [[Roger Zelazny]]'s ''[[This Immortal]]'' for the [[Hugo Award for Best Novel]] and won the inaugural [[Nebula Award for Best Novel]] in 1966. It is the first installment of the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune Chronicles'']]. It is one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels.<ref name="RIF"/><!-- Inaccuracy is acceptable in the Critical reception section. See TALK. -->

''Dune'' is set in the distant future in a [[Feudalism|feudal]] interstellar society, descended from terrestrial humans, in which various noble houses control planetary [[fief]]s. It tells the story of young [[Paul Atreides]], whose family reluctantly accepts the stewardship of the planet [[Arrakis]]. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of [[melange (fictional drug)|melange]] or "spice", an enormously valuable drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.

Herbert wrote five [[sequel]]s: ''[[Dune Messiah]]'', ''[[Children of Dune]]'', ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'', ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'', and ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]''. Following Herbert's death in 1986, his son [[Brian Herbert]] and author [[Kevin J. Anderson]] continued the series in over a dozen additional novels since 1999.

Adaptations of the novel to cinema have been notoriously difficult and complicated. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker [[Alejandro Jodorowsky]] attempted to make [[#Early stalled attempts|a film]] based on the novel. After three years of development, the project was canceled due to a constantly growing budget. In 1984, a [[Dune (1984 film)|film adaptation]] directed by [[David Lynch]] was released to mostly negative responses from critics and failure at the box office, although it later developed a [[cult following]]. The book was also adapted into the 2000 [[Syfy|Sci-Fi Channel]] miniseries ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'' and its 2003 sequel, ''[[Frank Herbert's Children of Dune]]'' (the latter of which combines the events of ''Dune Messiah'' and ''Children of Dune''). A second [[Dune (2021 film)|film adaptation]], directed by [[Denis Villeneuve]], was released on October 21, 2021, to positive reviews. It went on to be nominated for ten [[Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], ultimately winning six. Villeneuve's film covers roughly the first half of the original novel; a [[Dune: Part Two|sequel]], which covers the second half, was released on March 1, 2024, to critical acclaim. Both films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

The series has also been used as the basis for [[List of games based on Dune|several board, role-playing, and video games]].

Since 2009, the names of planets from the ''Dune'' novels have been adopted for the real-life nomenclature of plains and other features on [[Saturn]]'s moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]].

==Origins==
[[File:USA Oregon Dunes.jpg|thumb|235px|The [[Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area|Oregon Dunes]], near [[Florence, Oregon]], served as an inspiration for the ''Dune'' saga, specifically including the landscape on [[Arrakis]].]]

After his novel ''[[The Dragon in the Sea]]'' was published in 1957, Herbert traveled to [[Florence, Oregon]], at the north end of the [[Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area|Oregon Dunes]]. Here, the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] was attempting to use [[poverty grass (disambiguation)|poverty grasses]] to stabilize the [[dune|sand dunes]]. Herbert claimed in a letter to his literary agent, [[Lurton Blassingame]], that the moving dunes could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, highways."<ref>''[[The Road to Dune]]'' (2005), p. 264, letter by Frank Herbert to his agent Lurton Blassingame outlining "They Stopped the Moving Sands."</ref> Herbert's article on the dunes, "They Stopped the Moving Sands", was never completed (and only published decades later in ''[[The Road to Dune]]''), but its research sparked Herbert's interest in ecology and deserts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Reilly|first=Timothy|url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107740264|title=Frank Herbert|date=1981|publisher=Frederick Ungar Publishing Company|page=39|access-date=August 1, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806013108/https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107740264|url-status=live}}</ref>

Herbert further drew inspiration from [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] mentors like "Indian Henry" (as Herbert referred to the man to his son; likely a Henry Martin of the [[Hoh tribe]]) and Howard Hansen. Both Martin and Hansen grew up on the [[Quileute]] [[Quileute Indian Reservation|reservation]] near Herbert's hometown. According to historian [[Daniel Immerwahr]], Hansen regularly shared his writing with Herbert. "[[White people|White men]] are eating the earth," Hansen told Herbert in 1958, after sharing a piece on the effect of logging on the Quileute reservation. "They're gonna turn this whole planet into a wasteland, just like [[North Africa]]." The world could become a "big dune," Herbert responded in agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Immerwahr|first=Daniel|title=Heresies of 'Dune'|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/heresies-of-dune/|website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=November 19, 2020|access-date=June 28, 2022|archive-date=June 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628235839/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/heresies-of-dune/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Herbert was also interested in the idea of the [[superhero]] [[Mysticism|mystique]] and [[messiah]]s. He believed that [[feudalism]] was a natural condition humans fell into, where some led and others gave up the responsibility of making decisions and just followed orders. He found that desert environments have historically given birth to several major religions with messianic impulses. He decided to join his interests together so he could play religious and ecological ideas against each other. In addition, he was influenced by the story of [[T. E. Lawrence]] and the "messianic overtones" in Lawrence's involvement in the [[Arab Revolt]] during [[World War I]]. In an early version of ''Dune'', the hero was actually very similar to Lawrence of Arabia, but Herbert decided the plot was too straightforward and added more layers to his story.<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Reilly|first=Timothy|url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107740264|title=Frank Herbert|date=1981|publisher=Frederick Ungar Publishing Company|pages=43–45|access-date=August 1, 2021|archive-date=August 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806013108/https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107740264|url-status=live}}</ref>

Herbert drew heavy inspiration also from [[Lesley Blanch]]'s ''The Sabres of Paradise'' (1960), a [[narrative history]] recounting a mid-19th-century [[Caucasian War|conflict in the Caucasus]] between rugged caucasian Muslim tribes and the expanding [[Russian Empire]].<ref name="LAR"/> Language used on both sides of that conflict become terms in Herbert's world—''[[chakobsa]]'', a [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian]] hunting language, becomes a battle language of humans spread across the galaxy; ''kanly'', a word for blood feud in the 19th-century Caucasus, represents a feud between Dune's noble Houses; ''sietch'' and ''tabir'' are both words for camp borrowed from [[Ukrainian Cossacks]] (of the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]]).<ref name="LAR"/>

Herbert also borrowed some lines which Blanch stated were Caucasian proverbs. ''"To kill with the point lacked artistry"'', used by Blanch to describe the Caucasus peoples' love of swordsmanship, becomes in Dune ''"Killing with the tip lacks artistry"'', a piece of advice given to a young Paul during his training. ''"Polish comes from the city, wisdom from the hills"'', a Caucasian [[aphorism]], turns into a desert expression: ''"Polish comes from the cities, wisdom from the desert".<ref name="LAR"/>''

Another significant source of inspiration for ''Dune'' was Herbert's experiences with [[psilocybin]] and his hobby of cultivating mushrooms, according to [[Mycology|mycologist]] [[Paul Stamets]]'s account of meeting Herbert in the 1980s:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stamets |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Stamets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qtsTH7ekvVYC&q=mycelium+running |title=Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World |date=2011 |publisher=Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale |isbn=978-1-60774-124-4 |pages=126–127 |language=en |access-date=February 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173735/https://books.google.com/books?id=qtsTH7ekvVYC&q=mycelium+running#v=snippet&q=mycelium%20running&f=false |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><blockquote>Frank went on to tell me that much of the premise of ''Dune''—the magic [[Melange (fictional drug)|spice]] (spores) that allowed the bending of space ([[Psychedelic experience|tripping]]), the [[Sandworm (Dune)|giant sand worms]] ([[maggot]]s digesting mushrooms), the eyes of the [[Fremen|Freman]] (the [[cerulean]] blue of ''[[Psilocybe]]'' mushrooms), the mysticism of the female spiritual warriors, the [[Bene Gesserit]]s (influenced by the tales of [[María Sabina|Maria Sabina]] and the sacred mushroom cults of Mexico)—came from his perception of the fungal life cycle, and his imagination was stimulated through his experiences with the use of [[Psilocybin mushroom|magic mushrooms]].</blockquote>Herbert spent the next five years researching, writing, and revising. He published a three-part serial ''Dune World'' in the monthly ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]]'', from December 1963 to February 1964. The serial was accompanied by several illustrations that were not published again. After an interval of a year, he published the much slower-paced five-part ''The Prophet of Dune'' in the January–May 1965 issues.<ref>''The Road to Dune'', p. 272."...Frank Herbert toyed with the story about a desert world full of hazards and riches. He plotted a short adventure novel, ''Spice Planet'', but he set that outline aside when his concept grew into something much more ambitious."</ref><ref>''The Road to Dune'', pp. 263–264.</ref> The first serial became "Book One: Dune" in the final published ''Dune'' novel, and the second serial was divided into "Book Two: Muad'dib" and "Book Three: The Prophet". The serialized version was expanded, reworked, and submitted to more than twenty publishers, each of whom rejected it. The novel, ''Dune'', was finally accepted and published in August 1965 by [[Chilton Books]], a printing house better known for publishing auto repair manuals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlbSrcGnhRIC&pg=PA194 |title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-7653-0647-0 |pages=194, 208 |access-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173735/https://books.google.com/books?id=hlbSrcGnhRIC&pg=PA194#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sterling Lanier]], an editor at Chilton, had seen Herbert's manuscript and had urged his company to take a risk in publishing the book. However, the first printing, priced at {{USD|5.95|1965|long=no}}, did not sell well and was poorly received by critics as being atypical of science fiction at the time. Chilton considered the publication of ''Dune'' a write-off and Lanier was fired.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://jalopnik.com/dune-was-originally-published-by-a-car-repair-manual-co-1847940372 | title = Nobody Wanted To Publish Dune Except A Car Repair Manual Company | first = Steve | last = DaSilva | date = October 26, 2021 | access-date = October 27, 2021 | work = [[Jalopnik]] | archive-date = October 26, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211026234927/https://jalopnik.com/dune-was-originally-published-by-a-car-repair-manual-co-1847940372 | url-status = live }}</ref> Over the course of time, the book gained critical acclaim, and its popularity spread by word-of-mouth to allow Herbert to start working full time on developing the sequels to ''Dune'', elements of which were already written alongside ''Dune''.<ref name="new yorker endures"/>

At first Herbert considered using [[Mars]] as setting for his novel, but eventually decided to use a fictional planet instead. His son Brian said that "Readers would have too many preconceived ideas about that planet, due to the number of stories that had been written about it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2021/dune-science-fiction-saga-parallels-real-science-oregons-dunes/|title=How the ''Dune'' science-fiction saga parallels the real science of Oregon's dunes|first=Alan|last=Boyle|date=October 21, 2021|website=[[GeekWire]]|access-date=June 14, 2022|archive-date=December 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202032227/https://www.geekwire.com/2021/dune-science-fiction-saga-parallels-real-science-oregons-dunes/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Herbert dedicated his work "to the people whose labors go beyond ideas into the realm of 'real materials'—to the dry-land [[Ecology|ecologists]], wherever they may be, in whatever time they work, this effort at prediction is dedicated in humility and admiration."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Landa |first1=Edward R. |last2=Feller |first2=Christian |title=Soil and Culture |date=2010 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-90-481-2960-7 |page=101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSG84ikYN-wC&pg=PA101 |language=en |access-date=September 23, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173735/https://books.google.com/books?id=JSG84ikYN-wC&pg=PA101#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Plot==
Duke [[Leto I Atreides|Leto Atreides]] of [[House Atreides]], ruler of the [[ocean world]] Caladan, is assigned by the [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam IV]] to serve as fief ruler of the planet [[Arrakis]]. Although Arrakis is a harsh and inhospitable [[desert planet]], it is of enormous importance because it is the only planetary source of [[melange (fictional drug)|melange]], or the "spice", a unique and incredibly valuable substance that extends human youth, vitality and lifespan. It is also through the consumption of spice that [[Spacing Guild]] Navigators are able to effect safe interstellar travel through a limited ability to see into the future. The Emperor is jealous of the Duke's rising popularity in the [[Landsraad]], the council of Great Houses, and sees House Atreides as a potential rival and threat. He conspires with [[House Harkonnen]], the former stewards of Arrakis and the longstanding enemies of the Atreides, to destroy Leto and his family after their arrival. Leto is aware his assignment is a trap of some kind, but is compelled to obey the Emperor's orders anyway.

Leto's [[concubinage|concubine]] [[Lady Jessica]] is an [[acolyte]] of the [[Bene Gesserit]], an exclusively female group that pursues mysterious political aims and wields seemingly [[superhuman]] physical and mental abilities, such as the ability to control their bodies down to the cellular level, and also decide the sex of their children. Though Jessica was instructed by the Bene Gesserit to bear a daughter as part of their [[breeding program (Dune)|breeding program]], out of love for Leto she bore him a son, [[Paul Atreides|Paul]]. From a young age, Paul is trained in warfare by Leto's aides, the elite soldiers [[Duncan Idaho]] and [[Gurney Halleck]]. [[Thufir Hawat]], the Duke's [[Mentat]] (human computers, able to store vast amounts of data and perform advanced calculations on demand), has instructed Paul in the ways of political intrigue. Jessica has also trained her son in Bene Gesserit disciplines.

Paul's [[prophecy|prophetic]] dreams interest Jessica's superior, the [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]]. She subjects Paul to a deadly test. She holds a poisoned needle, the [[gom jabbar]], to his neck, ready to strike should he withdraw his hand from a box which creates extreme pain by nerve induction but causes no physical damage. This is to test Paul's ability to endure the pain and override his animal instincts, proving that he is, in Bene Gesserit eyes, human. Paul passes, enduring greater pain than any woman has ever been subjected to in the test.

Paul and his parents travel with their household to occupy [[Arrakeen]], the capital on Arrakis. Leto learns of the dangers involved in harvesting the spice, which is protected by giant [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworms]], and seeks to negotiate with the planet's indigenous [[Fremen]] people, seeing them as a valuable ally rather than foes. Soon after the Atreides' arrival, Harkonnen forces attack, joined by the Emperor's ferocious [[Sardaukar]] troops in disguise. Leto is betrayed by his personal physician, the [[Suk doctor]] [[Wellington Yueh]], who delivers a drugged Leto to the Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]] and his twisted Mentat, [[Piter De Vries]].

Yueh, who delivered Leto under duress, arranges for Jessica and Paul to escape into the desert. Duncan is killed helping them flee, and they are subsequently presumed dead in a sandstorm by the Harkonnens. Yueh replaces one of Leto's teeth with a poison gas capsule, hoping Leto can kill Baron Harkonnen during their encounter. Piter kills Yueh, and the Baron narrowly avoids the gas (due to his defensive shield), which kills Leto, Piter, and the others in the room. The Baron forces Thufir to take over Piter's position by dosing him with a long-lasting, fatal poison and threatening to withhold the regular antidote doses. While he follows the Baron's orders, Thufir works secretly to undermine the Harkonnens.

Having fled into the desert, Paul is exposed to high concentrations of spice and has visions through which he realizes he has significant powers (as a result of the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme). He foresees potential futures in which he lives among the Fremen before leading them on a [[holy war]] across the known universe. Paul reveals that Jessica's father is Baron Harkonnen, a secret kept from her by the Bene Gesserit.

Paul and Jessica traverse the desert in search of Fremen people. After being captured by a Fremen band, Paul and Jessica agree to teach the Fremen the Bene Gesserit fighting technique known to the Fremen as the "[[weirding way]]" and are accepted into the community of [[Sietch Tabr]]. Paul proves his manhood by killing a Fremen man named Jamis in a ritualistic [[crysknife]] fight and chooses the Fremen name Muad'Dib, while Jessica opts to undergo a ritual to become a Reverend Mother by drinking and neutralizing the poisonous [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]]. Pregnant with Leto's daughter, she inadvertently causes her unborn daughter [[Alia Atreides|Alia]] to become infused with the same powers in the womb. Paul takes a Fremen lover, [[Chani (character)|Chani]], who bears him a son he names Leto.

Two years pass, and Paul's powerful prescience manifests, which confirms to the Fremen that he is their prophesied "Lisan al-Gaib" [[Mahdi|messiah]], a legend planted by the Bene Gesserit's [[Missionaria Protectiva]]. Paul embraces his father's belief that the Fremen could be a powerful fighting force to take back Arrakis, but also sees that if he does not control them, their [[jihad]] could consume the entire universe. Word of the new Fremen leader reaches both the Baron and the Emperor as spice production falls due to their increasingly destructive raids. The Baron encourages his brutish nephew [[Glossu Rabban|Glossu "Beast" Rabban]] to rule with an iron fist, hoping the contrast with his shrewder nephew [[Feyd-Rautha]] will make the latter popular among the people of Arrakis when he eventually replaces Rabban. The Emperor, suspecting the Baron of trying to create troops more powerful than the Sardaukar to seize power, sends spies to Arrakis. Thufir uses the opportunity to sow seeds of doubt in the Baron about the Emperor's true plans, putting further strain on their alliance.

Gurney, who survived the Harkonnen coup and became a smuggler, reunites with Paul and Jessica after a Fremen raid on his harvester. Believing Jessica to be a traitor, Gurney threatens to kill her but is stopped by Paul. Paul did not foresee Gurney's attack and concludes he must increase his prescience by drinking the Water of Life, which is fatal to males. Paul falls into unconsciousness for three weeks after drinking the poison, but when he wakes, he has clairvoyance across time and space: he ''is'' the [[Kwisatz Haderach]], the ultimate goal of the Bene Gesserit breeding program.

Paul senses the Emperor and the Baron are amassing fleets around Arrakis to quell the Fremen rebellion, and prepares the Fremen for a major offensive. The Emperor arrives with the Baron on Arrakis. The Sardaukar seize a Fremen outpost, killing many, including young Leto, while Alia is captured and taken to the Emperor. Under cover of an electric storm, which shorts out the Sardaukar's defensive shields, Paul and the Fremen, riding giant sandworms, destroy the capital's natural rock fortifications with [[Atomics (Dune)|atomics]] and attack, while Alia assassinates the Baron and escapes. The Fremen quickly defeat both the Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops, killing Rabban in the process. Thufir is ordered to assassinate Paul, who gives him the opportunity to take anything that Thufir wishes of him. Thufir chooses to stab himself with the poisoned needle intended for Paul.

Paul faces the Emperor, threatening to destroy spice production forever unless Shaddam abdicates the throne. Feyd-Rautha challenges Paul to a knife fight, during which he cheats and tries to kill Paul with a poison spur in his belt. Paul gains the upper hand and kills him. The Emperor reluctantly cedes the throne to Paul and promises his daughter [[Princess Irulan]]'s hand in marriage. Paul takes control of the Empire, but realizes that he cannot stop the Fremen jihad, as their belief in him is too powerful to restrain.

==Characters==

;House Atreides
* Duke [[Leto I Atreides|Leto Atreides]], head of [[House Atreides]]
* [[Lady Jessica]], [[Bene Gesserit]] and [[Concubinage|concubine]] of the Duke, mother of Paul and Alia
* [[Paul Atreides]], son of Leto and Jessica
* [[Alia Atreides]], Paul's younger sister
* [[Thufir Hawat]], [[Mentat]] and Master of Assassins to House Atreides
* [[Gurney Halleck]], staunchly loyal troubadour warrior of the Atreides
* [[Duncan Idaho]], Swordmaster for House Atreides, graduate of the [[Swordmasters of the Ginaz|Ginaz School]]
* [[Wellington Yueh]], [[Suk School|Suk doctor]] for the Atreides who is secretly working for House Harkonnen
;House Harkonnen
* Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]], head of [[House Harkonnen]]
* [[Piter De Vries]], twisted Mentat
* [[Feyd-Rautha]], nephew and heir-presumptive of the Baron
* [[Glossu Rabban|Glossu "Beast" Rabban]], also called Rabban Harkonnen, older nephew of the Baron
* Iakin Nefud, Captain of the Guard

;House Corrino
* [[Shaddam IV]], [[Padishah Emperor]] of the Known Universe (the Imperium)
* [[Princess Irulan]], Shaddam's eldest daughter and heir, also a historian
* [[Count Fenring]], the Emperor's closest friend, advisor, and "errand boy"

;Bene Gesserit
* [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]], Proctor Superior of the Bene Gesserit school and the Emperor's [[Truthsayer]]
* Lady [[Margot Fenring]], Bene Gesserit wife of Count Fenring

;Fremen
* The [[Fremen]], native inhabitants of Arrakis
* [[Stilgar]], Fremen leader of [[Sietch Tabr]]
* [[Chani (character)|Chani]], Paul's Fremen concubine and a Sayyadina (female acolyte) of Sietch Tabr
* Dr. [[Liet-Kynes]], the Imperial Planetologist on Arrakis and father of Chani, as well as a revered figure among the Fremen
* The [[Shadout Mapes]], head housekeeper of imperial residence on Arrakis
* [[Jamis (Dune)|Jamis]], Fremen killed by Paul in ritual duel
* [[Harah]], wife of Jamis and later servant to Paul who helps raise Alia among the Fremen
* [[Reverend Mother Ramallo]], religious leader of Sietch Tabr

;Smugglers
* Esmar Tuek, a powerful smuggler and the father of Staban Tuek
* Staban Tuek, the son of Esmar Tuek and a powerful smuggler who befriends and takes in Gurney Halleck and his surviving men after the attack on the Atreides

==Themes and influences==
The ''Dune'' series is a landmark of [[science fiction]]. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his ''Dune'' universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. For example, a key pre-history event to the novel's present is the "Butlerian Jihad", in which all robots and computers were destroyed, eliminating these common elements to science fiction from the novel as to allow focus on humanity.<ref name="new yorker endures"/> ''Dune'' considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time.<ref name="Hanson">{{cite book|title=Building Sci-fi Moviescapes: The Science Behind the Fiction|first=Matt|last=Hanson|publisher=Gulf Professional Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-240-80772-0}}</ref> Director [[John Harrison (director)|John Harrison]], who adapted ''Dune'' for [[Syfy]]'s [[Frank Herbert's Dune|2000 miniseries]], called the novel a universal and timeless reflection of "the human condition and its moral dilemmas", and said:
{{Blockquote|A lot of people refer to ''Dune'' as science fiction. I never do. I consider it an epic adventure in the classic storytelling tradition, a story of myth and legend not unlike the ''[[Morte d'Arthur]]'' or any messiah story. It just happens to be set in the future ... The story is actually more relevant today than when Herbert wrote it. In the 1960s, there were just these two colossal superpowers duking it out. Today we're living in a more feudal, corporatized world more akin to Herbert's universe of separate families, power centers and business interests, all interrelated and kept together by the one commodity necessary to all.<ref name="NYT 2000">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/tv/cover-story-future-myths-adrift-in-the-sands-of-time.html?src=pm |title=Cover Story: Future Myths, Adrift in the Sands of Time |first=Marilyn |last=Stasio |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 3, 2000 |access-date=August 21, 2015 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222224856/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/tv/cover-story-future-myths-adrift-in-the-sands-of-time.html?src=pm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

But ''Dune'' has also been called a mix of [[Soft science fiction|soft]] and [[hard science fiction]] since "the attention to ecology is hard, the anthropology and the psychic abilities are soft."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gunn|first=James|title=Hard Science Fiction|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|year=1986|editor-last=Slusser|editor-first=George E.|pages=79|chapter=The Readers of Hard Science Fiction|editor-last2=Rabkin|editor-first2=Eric S.}}</ref> Hard elements include the ecology of Arrakis, suspensor technology, weapon systems, and ornithopters, while soft elements include issues relating to religion, physical and mental training, cultures, politics, and psychology.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=L. David|title=Herbert's Dune and Other Works|publisher=Cliffs Notes|year=1975|pages=7–8}}</ref>

Herbert said Paul's messiah figure was inspired by the [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] legend,<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGJ3pGEuas&t=120s| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829230728/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZGJ3pGEuas&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2020-08-29 | url-status=dead|title=Rare DUNE Interview with Frank Herbert |medium=video|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> and that the [[Water scarcity|scarcity of water]] on Arrakis was a metaphor for [[petroleum|oil]], as well as air and water itself, and for the shortages of resources caused by [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/BEWM7zIIF9c Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20101103001331/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWM7zIIF9c Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWM7zIIF9c&t=42s|title=Frank Herbert Interview|medium=video|access-date=April 17, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Novelist [[Brian Herbert]], his son and biographer, wrote:
{{blockquote|''Dune'' is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange, the geriatric spice that represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil. The planet Arrakis features immense, ferocious worms that are like dragons of lore, with "great teeth" and a "bellows breath of cinnamon." This resembles the myth described by an unknown English poet in ''[[Beowulf]]'', the compelling tale of a fearsome fire dragon who guarded a great treasure hoard in a lair under cliffs, at the edge of the sea. The desert of Frank Herbert's classic novel is a vast ocean of sand, with giant worms diving into the depths, the mysterious and unrevealed domain of Shai-hulud. Dune tops are like the crests of waves, and there are powerful sandstorms out there, creating extreme danger. On Arrakis, life is said to emanate from the Maker (Shai-hulud) in the desert-sea; similarly all life on Earth is believed to have evolved from our oceans. Frank Herbert drew parallels, used spectacular metaphors, and extrapolated present conditions into world systems that seem entirely alien at first blush. But close examination reveals they aren't so different from systems we know ... and the book characters of his imagination are not so different from people familiar to us.<ref name="Dune Afterword Setting">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=876 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref>}}

Each chapter of ''Dune'' begins with an [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] excerpted from the fictional writings of the character Princess Irulan. In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context and other details intended to enhance understanding of Herbert's complex fictional universe and themes.<ref name="Cinescape 2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=&obj_id=26343 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316172142/http://www.mania.com/dune-remaking-classic-novel_article_26343.html |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |title=''Dune'': Remaking the Classic Novel |access-date=November 9, 2008 |last=Fritz |first=Steve |date=December 4, 2000 |website=Cinescape.com}}</ref><ref name="Tor 2014">{{cite web |url=http://torforgeblog.com/2014/02/03/quotes-from-the-end-of-the-world/ |title=Quotes from the End of the World |last=Edison |first=David |website=[[Tor.com]] |date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708041344/http://torforgeblog.com/2014/02/03/quotes-from-the-end-of-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sayings">{{cite web| url=http://www.dunemessiah.com/irulan.shtml |title=Collected Sayings of Princess Irulan |website=DuneMessiah.com |access-date=November 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618071057/http://www.dunemessiah.com/irulan.shtml |archive-date=June 18, 2008}}</ref> They act as foreshadowing and invite the reader to keep reading to close the gap between what the epigraph says and what is happening in the main narrative.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Manlove|first=C. N.|title=Science fiction : ten explorations|date=1986|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-36919-7|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire|pages=88–89|oclc=14933209}}</ref> The epigraphs also give the reader the feeling that the world they are reading about is epically distanced, since Irulan writes about an idealized image of Paul as if he had already passed into memory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Touponce|first=William F.|title=Frank Herbert|date=1988|publisher=Twayne Publishers|isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3|location=Boston|pages=30|oclc=16717899}}</ref> Brian Herbert wrote: "Dad told me that you could follow any of the novel's layers as you read it, and then start the book all over again, focusing on an entirely different layer. At the end of the book, he intentionally left loose ends and said he did this to send the readers spinning out of the story with bits and pieces of it still clinging to them, so that they would want to go back and read it again."<ref name="Dune Afterword Loose Ends">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |pages=881–882 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref>

===Middle-Eastern and Islamic references===
Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in the [[Arabic language]], as well as the series' "[[Islamic]] [[Subtext|undertones]]" and themes, a [[Middle-Eastern]] influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly.<ref name="7 Beauties">{{Cite book |last=Csicsery-Ronay |first=Istvan Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVYxl5ued-oC&q=The%20seven%20beauties%20of%20science%20fiction%20by%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%20%28Jr.%29&pg=PA39 |title=The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction |date=November 28, 2008 |publisher=Wesleyan |isbn=978-0-8195-6889-2 |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129181807/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVYxl5ued-oC&q=The%20seven%20beauties%20of%20science%20fiction%20by%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Istvan%20Csicsery-Ronay%20%28Jr.%29&pg=PA39 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bahayeldin">{{cite web |url=http://baheyeldin.com/literature/arabic-and-islamic-themes-in-frank-herberts-dune.html |title=Arabic and Islamic themes in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' |last=Bahayeldin |first=Khalid |date=January 22, 2004 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |publisher=Baheyeldin.com |archive-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512020025/http://baheyeldin.com/literature/arabic-and-islamic-themes-in-frank-herberts-dune.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his descriptions of the Fremen culture and language, Herbert uses both authentic Arabic words and Arabic-sounding words.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zaki|first=Hoda M.|title=Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists|publisher=South End Press|year=1994|editor-last=Kadi|editor-first=Joanna|chapter=Orientalism in Science Fiction}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Ryding|first=Karin|title=Language in Place: Stylistic Perspectives on Landscape, Place and Environment|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|year=2021|editor-last=Virdis|editor-first=Daniela Francesca|chapter=The Arabic of Dune: Language and Landscape|editor-last2=Zurru|editor-first2=Elisabetta|editor-last3=Lahey|editor-first3=Ernestine}}</ref> For example, one of the names for the sandworm, Shai-hulud, is derived from {{Langx|ar|شيء خلود|lit=immortal thing|translit=šayʾ ḫulūd|label=none}} or {{Langx|ar|شيخ خلود|lit=old man of eternity|translit=šayḫ ḫulūd|label=none}}.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy|first=Kara|date=April 2, 2016|title=Epic World-Building: Names and Cultures in '''Dune''|url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107560903|journal=Names: A Journal of Onomastics|volume=64|issue=2|pages=99–108|doi=10.1080/00277738.2016.1159450|s2cid=192897269|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=August 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803020323/https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107560903|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|doi-access=free}}</ref> The title of the Fremen housekeeper, the Shadout Mapes, is borrowed from the {{Langx|ar|شادوف|translit=šādūf|label=none}}, the [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian]] term for [[Shadoof|a device used to raise water]].<ref name=":0"/> In particular, words related to the messianic religion of the Fremen, first implanted by the Bene Gesserit, are taken from Arabic, including Muad'Dib (from {{Langx|ar|مؤدب|translit=muʾaddib|lit=educator|label=none}}), Lisan al-Gaib (from {{langx|ar|لسان الغيب|translit=lisān al-ġayb|lit=voice of the unseen|label=none}}), Usul (from {{Langx|ar|أصول|translit=ʾuṣūl|lit=fundamental principles|label=none}}), Shari-a (from {{Langx|ar|شريعة|translit=šarīʿa|lit=[[sharia]]; path|label=none}}), Shaitan (from {{Langx|ar|شيطان|translit=šayṭān|lit=[[Shaitan]]; devil; fiend|label=none}}), and jinn (from {{Langx|ar|جن|translit=ǧinn|lit=[[jinn]]; spirit; demon; mythical being|label=none}}).<ref name="7 Beauties"/> It is likely Herbert relied on second-hand resources such as phrasebooks and desert adventure stories to find these Arabic words and phrases for the Fremen.<ref name=":0"/> They are meaningful and carefully chosen, and help create an "imagined desert culture that resonates with exotic sounds, enigmas, and pseudo-Islamic references" and has a distinctly [[Bedouin]] aesthetic.<ref name=":0"/>

As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides bears many similarities to the historical [[T. E. Lawrence]].<ref name=":3">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch03.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 3: From Concept to Fable|access-date=December 27, 2019|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=July 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717022308/http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch03.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His 1962 biopic ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' has also been identified as a potential influence.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Lawrence of Arabia'' Is the Unlikely Prequel to ''Star Wars'', ''Dune'', And All Your Favorite Fantasy Epics |url=https://decider.com/2015/12/03/lawrence-of-arabia-star-wars-dune-sci-fi/ |via=[[Decider.com]] |website=[[New York Post]] |access-date=June 14, 2019 |date=December 3, 2015 |archive-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616084717/https://decider.com/2015/12/03/lawrence-of-arabia-star-wars-dune-sci-fi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Source only speculates on influence.|date=September 2025}} ''The Sabres of Paradise'' (1960) has also been identified as a potential influence upon ''Dune'', with its depiction of [[Imam Shamil]] and the Islamic culture of the [[Caucasus]] inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of ''Dune''.<ref name="LAR">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]] |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#! |first=Will |last=Collins |title=The Secret History of ''Dune'' |date=September 16, 2017 |access-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-date=October 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060026/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#! |url-status=live }}</ref>

The environment of the desert planet Arrakis was primarily inspired by the environments of the [[Middle East]]. Similarly Arrakis as a bioregion is presented as a particular kind of political site. Herbert has made it resemble a desertified [[petrostate]] area.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lynch |first1=Tom |last2=Glotfelty |first2=Cheryll |last3=Armbruster |first3=Karla |title=The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place |date=2012 |publisher=[[University of Georgia Press]] |isbn=978-0-8203-4367-9 |page=230 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=flt4Uea3oOcC&pg=PA230 |access-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011122/https://books.google.com/books?id=flt4Uea3oOcC&pg=PA230#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by the Bedouin tribes of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], and the [[Mahdi]] prophecy originates from [[Islamic eschatology]].<ref name="Kunzru">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world|title=''Dune'', 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world|last=Kunzru|first=Hari|date=July 3, 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 11, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=February 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211143820/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world|url-status=live}}</ref> Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian [[Ibn Khaldun]]'s cyclical history and his [[Asabiyyah|dynastic concept]] in [[North Africa]], hinted at by Herbert's reference to Khaldun's book [[Kitab al-ibar|Kitāb al-ʿibar]] ("The Book of Lessons"). The fictionalized version of the "Kitab al-ibar" in ''Dune'' is a combination of a Fremen religious manual and a desert survival book.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hammond|first=Joseph|date=October 18, 2021|title=''Dune'' novels draw on Islamic motifs and have in turn inspired Muslim artists|language=en-US|work=Religion News Service|url=https://religionnews.com/2021/10/18/dune-novels-draw-on-islamic-motifs-and-have-in-turn-inspired-muslim-artists/|access-date=October 31, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106001309/https://religionnews.com/2021/10/18/dune-novels-draw-on-islamic-motifs-and-have-in-turn-inspired-muslim-artists/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Determann|first=Jörg Matthias|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1_xDwAAQBAJ|title=Islam, science fiction and extraterrestrial life : the culture of astrobiology in the Muslim world|date=2021|isbn=978-0-7556-0130-1|location=London|pages=97|oclc=1197808773|access-date=November 20, 2021|archive-date=March 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011130/https://books.google.com/books?id=k1_xDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Additional language and historic influences ====
In addition to Arabic, ''Dune'' derives words and names from a variety of other languages, including [[Navajo language|Navajo]], [[Latin]], [[Old Scandinavian]] ("{{lang|non|Landsraad}}"),<ref>{{cite interview|url=http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm|title=Vertex Interviews Frank Herbert|interviewer=Paul Turner|date=October 1973|volume=1|issue=4|access-date=November 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519171219/http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm|archive-date=May 19, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Romani language|Romani]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ("[[Kefitzat haderech]]", {{langx|he|קפיצת הדרך|translit=contracting of the path|label=none}}), [[Serbo-Croatian]], [[Nahuatl]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Sanskrit]] ("prana bindu", "prajna"), [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], and [[Old English]].<ref name="Dune Afterword Language">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=878 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Tolk de Chakobsa Phrases in ''Dune''|url=https://fr.scribd.com/doc/260601365/Conlangs-Monthly-April-Edition|journal=Conlangs Monthly|page=31|first=Olivier|last=Simon|access-date=March 15, 2024|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053658/https://fr.scribd.com/doc/260601365/Conlangs-Monthly-April-Edition|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Bene Gesserit'' is part of the Latin legal phrase {{lang|la|quamdiu se bene gesserit}} "as long as he shall behave himself well" seen in grants of certain offices (such as judgeships) meaning that the appointee shall remain in office so long as he shall not be guilty of abusing it. Some critics miss the connotation of the phrase, misled by the Latin future perfect {{lang|la|gesserit}}, taking it over-literally (and adding an unwarranted passive) to mean "it will have been well borne", an interpretation which is not well supported by the Bene Gesserit doctrine in the story.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tim O'Reilly - Frank Herbert: Chapter 3: From Concept to Fable - O'Reilly Media |url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch03.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528051139/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch03.html |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |access-date=2021-11-07 |website=oreilly.com |language=en}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=May 2024}}<!-- The source gives the translation cited in the text. The claim it is a mistranslation and the claimed phrase reference are not in the source and appear to be original research. -->

Through the inspiration from ''The Sabres of Paradise'', there are also allusions to the tsarist-era [[Russian nobility]] and [[Cossacks]].<ref name="LAR2">{{cite magazine|last=Collins|first=Will|date=September 16, 2017|title=The Secret History of ''Dune''|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#!|magazine=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]]|access-date=October 20, 2017|archive-date=October 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060026/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-secret-history-of-dune/#!|url-status=live}}</ref> Frank Herbert stated that bureaucracy that lasted long enough would become a hereditary nobility, and a significant theme behind the [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] families in ''Dune'' was "aristocratic bureaucracy" which he saw as analogous to the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tim O'Reilly - Frank Herbert: Chapter 5: Rogue Gods - O'Reilly Media |url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107074914/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-07 |website=oreilly.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/5IfgBX1EW00 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170210174612/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfgBX1EW00&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|last=Herbert|first=Frank|date=1985-04-17|title=Frank Herbert speaking at UCLA 4/17/1985|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfgBX1EW00|website=YouTube|publisher=University of California, Los Angeles Comm Studies}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Environmentalism and ecology===
''Dune'' has been called the "first planetary [[ecology]] novel on a grand scale".<ref name="James">{{cite book |last1=James |first1=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jame_241 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction |last2=Mendlesohn |first2=Farah |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-01657-5 |location=Cambridge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00jame_241/page/n212 183]–184 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Herbert hoped it would be seen as an "[[Environmentalism|environmental awareness]] handbook" and said the title was meant to "echo the sound of 'doom'".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|title=The maker of Dune : insights of a master of science fiction|date=1987|publisher=Berkley Books|others=Tim O'Reilly|isbn=978-0-425-09785-4|edition=|location=New York|pages=249|oclc=15636296}}</ref> It was reviewed in the best-selling countercultural [[Whole Earth Catalog]] in 1968 as a "rich re-readable fantasy with clear portrayal of the fierce environment it takes to cohere a community".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brand|first=Stewart|title=Whole Earth Catalog|year=1968|pages=41}}</ref>

After the publication of ''[[Silent Spring]]'' by [[Rachel Carson]] in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. ''Dune'' responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of Arrakis life, from giant sandworms (for whom water is deadly) to smaller, mouse-like life-forms adapted to live with limited water. ''Dune'' was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as ''[[A Door into Ocean]]'' (1986) and ''[[Red Mars]]'' (1992).<ref name="James"/> Environmentalists have pointed out that ''Dune''{{'s}} popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex—almost living—thing, in combination with the [[first images of Earth from space]] being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international [[Earth Day]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Facilitating Watershed Management: Fostering Awareness and Stewardship |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-3364-6 |editor-last=France |editor-first=Robert L. |location=Lanham |page=105}}</ref>

While the genre of [[climate fiction]] was popularized in the 2010s in response to real global [[climate change]], ''Dune'' as well as other early science fiction works from authors like [[J. G. Ballard]] (''[[The Drowned World]]'') and [[Kim Stanley Robinson]] (the [[Mars trilogy|''Mars'' trilogy]]) have retroactively been considered pioneering examples of the genre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Dune'', climate fiction pioneer: The ecological lessons of Frank Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece were ahead of its time|first=Michael|last=Berry|date=August 13, 2015|url=https://www.salon.com/2015/08/13/dune_climate_fiction_pioneer_the_ecological_lessons_of_frank_herberts_sci_fi_masterpiece_were_ahead_of_its_time/|access-date=October 29, 2021|website=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|language=en|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029044523/https://www.salon.com/2015/08/13/dune_climate_fiction_pioneer_the_ecological_lessons_of_frank_herberts_sci_fi_masterpiece_were_ahead_of_its_time/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Frelik |first=Paweł |date=2017 |title='On Not Calling a Spade a Spade': Climate Fiction as Science Fiction |journal=[[American Studies (journal)|American Studies]] |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=125–129}}</ref>

===Declining empires===
The Imperium in ''Dune'' contains features of various empires in Europe and the [[Near East]], including the [[Roman Empire]], [[Holy Roman Empire]], and [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name=":1"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ower|first=John|date=1974|title=Idea and Imagery in Herbert's ''Dune''|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|journal=Extrapolation|volume=15|issue=2|pages=129–139|doi=10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173738/https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.1974.15.2.129|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rogers|first=Brett M.|title=Brill's Companion to the Reception of Aeschylus|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]|year=2018|editor-last=Kennedy|editor-first=Rebecca Futo|chapter='Now Harkonnen Shall Kill Harkonnen': Aeschylus, Dynastic Violence, and Twofold Tragedies in Frank Herbert's ''Dune''}}</ref> Lorenzo DiTommaso compared ''Dune''{{'s}} portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]],'' which argues that [[Christianity]] allied with the profligacy of the Roman elite led to the fall of [[Ancient Rome]]. In "The Articulation of Imperial Decadence and Decline in Epic Science Fiction" (2007), DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of the Emperor on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler through an excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites". The Baron Harkonnen is similarly corrupt and materially indulgent. Gibbon's ''Decline and Fall'' partly blames the fall of Rome on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon claimed that this exotic import from a conquered province weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack. The Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Dune not only because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and the fact that Jessica and Paul have trained the Fremen in their battle tactics, but because of the Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others.<ref name="DiTommaso">{{Cite journal|last=DiTommaso|first=Lorenzo|date=2007|title=The Articulation of Imperial Decadence and Decline in Epic Science Fiction|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|journal=Extrapolation|volume=48|issue=2|pages=267–291|doi=10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|issn=|access-date=September 19, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173741/https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/extr.2007.48.2.5|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The decline and long peace of the Empire sets the stage for revolution and renewal by [[Genetic admixture|genetic mixing]] of successful and unsuccessful groups through war, a process culminating in the Jihad led by Paul Atreides, described by Frank Herbert as depicting "war as a collective orgasm" (drawing on Norman Walter's 1950 ''The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare''),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/sociology/1950-walter-thesexualcycleofhumanwarfare.djvu|title=The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare|date=1950|first=Norman|last=Walter|via=gwern.net|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412132316/https://www.gwern.net/docs/sociology/1950-walter-thesexualcycleofhumanwarfare.djvu|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.jacurutu.com/viewtopic.php?t=1214#p38497|title=Listening To The Left Hand|first=Frank|last=Herbert|magazine=[[Harper's]]|date=December 1973|via=jacurutu.com|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=June 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616122440/http://www.jacurutu.com/viewtopic.php?t=1214#p38497|url-status=live}}</ref> themes that would reappear in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]''{{'s}} [[The Scattering (Dune)|Scattering]] and Leto II's all-female [[Fish Speaker]] army.

===Gender dynamics===
[[Gender role|Gender dynamics]] are complex in ''Dune''. Herbert offers a multi-layered portrayal of gender roles within the context of a feudal, hierarchical society, particularly through the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Although the Bene Gesserit tend to hold roles that are traditionally associated with women, such as wives, concubines, and mothers, their characters transcend stereotypes as they play politics and pursue long-term strategic goals. Full gender equality is not depicted in ''Dune'', but the Bene Gesserit use specialized training and access to high-ranking men to gain agency and power within the constraints of their environment. Their training in prana-bindu allows them to exert control over their minds and bodies, including over pregnancy, and they are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and use of the Voice to command others. Jessica's disobedience in bearing a son instead of daughter and training him in the Bene Gesserit Way is a major plot point that sets in motion the events of the novel.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Women's Agency in the Dune Universe: Tracing Women's Liberation through Science Fiction |date=2021 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-030-89204-3 |edition= |location=Switzerland |pages=124, 131}}</ref><ref name=":6"/> By setting up certain women with leaders of certain Houses in the Imperium, the Bene Gesserit can control bloodlines across generations through their secret breeding program.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Semler |first=Stephanie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/663953010 |title=Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat |date=2011 |publisher=Open Court |isbn=978-0-8126-9715-5 |editor-last=Nicholas |editor-first=Jeffery |series=Popular Culture and Philosophy |location=Chicago |pages=17 |oclc=663953010 |access-date=May 4, 2024 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531173745/https://search.worldcat.org/title/663953010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Even within the male-dominated Imperium, then, the Bene Gesserit wield reproductive power and choose which genetic markers to continue into the future.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McReynolds |first=Leigha High |title=Discovering Dune: Essays on Frank Herbert's Epic Saga |date=2022 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-8201-3 |editor-last=Nardi |editor-first=Dominic J. |series= |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=145–155 |chapter=Locations of Deviance: A Eugenics Reading of Dune |editor-last2=Brierly |editor-first2=N. Trevor}}</ref>

Reverend Mother Mohiam uses skills in Truthsaying to act as the Emperor's official Truthsayer and advisor. Her role can be considered similar to that of [[abbess]]es in the medieval Church. Before Princess Irulan appears as a character who agrees to a political marriage with Paul, she acts as a historian who shapes the reader's interpretation of the story and Paul's legacy due to the excerpts from her writing that frame each chapter.<ref name=":5"/><ref name=":6"/>

Among the Fremen, women have roles as mothers and wives and also exercise agency through combat and religious authority. Fremen women and children have a reputation for being just as violent and dangerous as Fremen men. Chani travels with Stilgar in his military party, armed like the others. After becoming Paul's concubine, she kills one of the men who comes to challenge him. Alia leads an attack against the Emperor's Sardaukar and kills Baron Harkonnen with a gom jabbar. Women also take on the role of religious leaders. Chani is a Sayyadina who presides over tribal rituals such as Paul's worm-riding test, and Reverend Mother Ramallo carries the tribe's memories and passes them along to Jessica through the [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]] ceremony. Within the male-led sietches, Fremen women find different avenues of authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Frank Herbert's Dune: A Critical Companion |date=2022 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-3-031-13934-5 |series=Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon |location=Switzerland |pages=80–84}}</ref>

The gom jabbar test of humanity is administered by the female Bene Gesserit order but rarely to males.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Susan|date=2014|title=A Teaching Review of Dune: Religion is the Spice of Life|journal=Implicit Religion|volume=17|issue=4|pages=533–538|doi=10.1558/imre.v17i4.533}}</ref> The Bene Gesserit have seemingly mastered the unconscious and can play on the unconscious weaknesses of others using the Voice, yet their breeding program seeks after a male Kwisatz Haderach.<ref name=":3"/> Their plan is to produce a male who can "possess complete racial memory, both male and female," and look into the black hole in the collective unconscious that they fear.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=David M.|title=Frank Herbert|publisher=Starmont House|year=1980}}</ref> A central theme of the book is the connection, in Jessica's son, of this female aspect with his male aspect. This aligns with concepts in [[Carl Jung|Jungian]] psychology, which features conscious/unconscious and taking/giving roles associated with males and females, as well as the idea of the collective unconscious.<ref>{{Cite book|last=O'Reilly|first=Timothy|title=Frank Herbert|publisher=Frederick Ungar Publishing|year=1981|isbn=978-0-8044-2666-4}}</ref> Paul's approach to power consistently requires his upbringing under the matriarchal Bene Gesserit, who operate as a long-dominating [[Shadow government (conspiracy)|shadow government]] behind all of the great houses and their marriages or divisions.<ref name=":4"/> He is trained by Jessica in the Bene Gesserit Way, which includes prana-bindu training in nerve and muscle control and precise perception.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Kennedy|first=Kara|date=September 8, 2021|title=Frank Herbert, the Bene Gesserit, and the Complexity of Women in the World of Dune|url=https://www.tor.com/2021/09/08/frank-herbert-the-bene-gesserit-and-the-complexity-of-women-in-the-world-of-dune/|access-date=|website=Tor.com|language=en-US|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021085928/https://www.tor.com/2021/09/08/frank-herbert-the-bene-gesserit-and-the-complexity-of-women-in-the-world-of-dune/|url-status=live}}</ref> Paul also receives Mentat training, thus helping prepare him to be a type of androgynous Kwisatz Haderach, a male Reverend Mother.<ref name=":4"/>

In a Bene Gesserit test early in the book, it is implied that people are generally "inhuman" in that they irrationally place desire over self-interest and reason.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} This applies Herbert's philosophy that humans are not created equal, while equal justice and equal opportunity are higher ideals than mental, physical, or moral equality.<ref name="Genesis">{{cite web|last=Herbert|first=Frank|url=http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |title=''Dune'' Genesis|access-date=February 14, 2014 |publisher=FrankHerbert.org|work=[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]|date=July 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107220342/http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |archive-date=January 7, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Heroism===
{{blockquote|I am showing you the superhero syndrome and your own participation in it.|Frank Herbert<ref>Herbert liner notes quoted in Touponce p. 24</ref>}}

Throughout Paul's rise to superhuman status, he follows a plotline common to many [[monomyth|stories describing the birth of a hero]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Palumbo|first=Donald|date=1998|title=The Monomyth as Fractal Pattern in Frank Herbert's Dune Novels|journal=[[Science Fiction Studies]]|volume=25|pages=433–458 |doi=10.1525/sfs.25.3.0433 }}</ref> He has unfortunate circumstances forced onto him. After a long period of hardship and exile, he confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale.<ref>Tilley, E. Allen. "The Modes of Fiction: A Plot Morphology." ''College English.'' (Feb 1978) 39.6 pp. 692–706.</ref><ref>Hume, Kathryn. "Romance: A Perdurable Pattern." ''College English''. (Oct 1974) 36.2 pp. 129–146.</ref> As such, ''Dune'' is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features a character who attains godlike status through scientific means.<ref>Attebery, Brian. Decoding Gender in Science Fiction. New York: Routledge, 2002. p. 66 {{ISBN|978-0-415-93949-2}}</ref> Eventually, Paul Atreides gains a level of omniscience which allows him to take over the planet and the galaxy, and causes the Fremen of Arrakis to worship him like a god. Author Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the ''Dune'' trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better to rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes."<ref name="Clareson">{{Cite book|last=Clareson |first=Thomas |title=Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: the Formative Period |location=Columbia |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |year=1992 |pages=169–172 |isbn=978-0-87249-870-9}}</ref> He wrote in 1985, "''Dune'' was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by the numbers who follow without question."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Eye (short story collection)|Eye]] |chapter=Introduction |year=1985 |publisher=Berkley Books |isbn=978-0-425-08398-7}}</ref>

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of ''Dune'' from earlier heroes such as [[Superman]], [[A. E. van Vogt|van Vogt]]'s [[Gilbert Gosseyn]] and [[Henry Kuttner]]'s telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen, Ginaz swordsmen and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Spacing Guild Navigators).<ref name="prieto">{{Cite journal| last = Prieto-Pablos | first = Juan A. | title = The Ambivalent Hero of Contemporary Fantasy and Science Fiction | journal = [[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]] | volume = 32 | issue = 1 | pages = 64–80 | publisher = The University of Texas at Brownsville | date =Spring 1991 | doi = 10.3828/extr.1991.32.1.64}}</ref>

===Zen and religion===
{{Main|List of Dune religions}}

Early in his newspaper career, Herbert was introduced to [[Zen]] by two [[Jungian]] psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, who "gave a crucial boost to his thinking".<ref name="O'Reilly C2">{{cite book|url=http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 2: Under Pressure|access-date=March 26, 2019|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=December 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230080811/http://tim.oreilly.com/herbert/ch02.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Zen teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work".<ref name="O'Reilly C2"/> Throughout the ''Dune'' series and particularly in ''Dune'', Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from [[Zen Buddhism]].<ref name="O'Reilly C2"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Unpublished interview with Frank Herbert and Professor Willis E. McNelly |date=February 3, 1969 |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |via=sinanvural.com |access-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 13, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213105526/http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Fremen are referred to as [[Zensunni]] adherents, and many of Herbert's epigraphs are Zen-spirited.<ref>{{cite book|last=Touponce|year=1988|title=Frank Herbert|chapter=Life and Intellectual Background|page=10|publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3}}</ref> In "''Dune'' Genesis", Frank Herbert wrote:

{{blockquote|What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fugue like relationships of images that exactly replay the way ''Dune'' took shape. As in an [[M. C. Escher|Escher]] lithograph, I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. The central paradox concerns the human vision of time. What about Paul's gift of prescience—the [[Presbyterian]] fixation? For the [[Pythia|Delphic Oracle]] to perform, it must tangle itself in a web of [[predestination]]. Yet predestination negates surprises and, in fact, sets up a mathematically enclosed universe whose limits are always inconsistent, always encountering the unprovable. It's like a [[koan]], a Zen mind breaker. It's like the [[Crete|Cretan]] [[Epimenides]] saying, "All Cretans are liars."<ref name="Genesis"/>}}

Brian Herbert called the ''Dune'' universe "a spiritual melting pot", noting that his father incorporated elements of a variety of religions, including [[Buddhism]], [[Sufism|Sufi mysticism]] and other Islamic belief systems, [[Catholicism]], [[Protestantism]], [[Judaism]], and [[Hinduism]].<ref name="Dune Afterword Religion">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |contributor-first=Brian |contributor-last=Herbert |contributor-link=Brian Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |contribution=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=[[Amazon Kindle]] |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=873 |isbn=978-1-101658-05-5}}</ref> He added that Frank Herbert's fictional future in which "religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms" represents the author's solution to eliminating arguments between religions, each of which claimed to have "the one and only revelation."<ref name="Dune Afterword Religion"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Herbert |first=Frank |date=February 3, 1969 |title=Interview with Dr. Willis E. McNelly |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213105526/http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2002 |access-date=January 26, 2010 |publisher=Sinanvural.com |quote=During my studies of deserts, of course, and previous studies of religions, we all know that many religions began in a desert atmosphere, so I decided to put the two together because I don't think that any one story should have any one thread. I build on a layer technique, and of course putting in religion and religious ideas you can play one against the other.}}</ref>

===Asimov's ''Foundation''===
Tim O'Reilly suggests that Herbert also wrote ''Dune'' as a counterpoint to [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[Foundation (book series)|''Foundation'' series]]. In his [[monograph]] on Frank Herbert, O'Reilly wrote that "''Dune'' is clearly a commentary on the ''Foundation'' trilogy. Herbert has taken a look at the same imaginative situation that provoked Asimov's classic—the decay of a galactic empire—and restated it in a way that draws on different assumptions and suggests radically different conclusions. The twist he has introduced into ''Dune'' is that [[List of Foundation series characters#The Mule|the Mule]], not the Foundation, is his hero."<ref name=":2">{{cite book|url=https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html|title=Frank Herbert|first=Tim|last=O'Reilly|chapter=Chapter 5: Rogue Gods|access-date=May 15, 2020|via=oreilly.com|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107074914/https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to O'Reilly, Herbert bases the Bene Gesserit on the scientific shamans of the Foundation, though they use biological rather than statistical science.<ref name=":2"/> In contrast to the ''Foundation'' series and its praise of science and rationality, ''Dune'' proposes that the unconscious and unexpected are actually what are needed for humanity.<ref name=":2"/>

Both Herbert and Asimov explore the implications of prescience (i.e., visions of the future) both psychologically and socially. The ''Foundation'' series deploys a broadly determinist approach to prescient vision rooted in mathematical reasoning on a macroscopic social level. ''Dune'', by contrast, invents a biologically rooted power of prescience that becomes determinist when the user actively relies on it to navigate past an undefined threshold of detail. Herbert's eugenically produced and spice-enhanced prescience is also personalized to individual actors whose roles in later books constrain each other's visions, rendering the future more or less mutable as time progresses. In what might be a comment on ''Foundation'', Herbert's most powerfully prescient being in ''God Emperor of Dune'' laments the boredom engendered by prescience, and values surprises, especially regarding one's death, as a psychological necessity.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

However, both works contain a similar theme of the restoration of civilization<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grigsby|first=John L.|date=1981|title=Asimov's "Foundation" Trilogy and Herbert's "Dune" Trilogy: A Vision Reversed (La Trilogie de "Fondation" chez Asimov et la trilogie de "Dune" chez Herbert: une vision inversée)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239405|journal=Science Fiction Studies|volume=8|issue=2|pages=149–155|doi=10.1525/sfs.8.2.0149 |jstor=4239405|issn=0091-7729|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030040131/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4239405|url-status=live}}</ref> and seem to make the fundamental assumption that "political maneuvering, the need to control material resources, and friendship or mating bonds will be fundamentally the same in the future as they are now."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Riggs|first=Don|title=Spectrum of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Sixth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1988|isbn=978-0-313-25502-1|editor-last=Palumbo|editor-first=Donald|chapter=Future and “Progress” in Foundation and Dune}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
''Dune'' tied with [[Roger Zelazny]]'s ''[[This Immortal]]'' for the [[Hugo Award]] in 1966<ref name="Hugo 1966">{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1966-hugo-awards/|title=The Hugo Awards: 1966|website=TheHugoAwards.org|date=July 26, 2007|publisher=World Science Fiction Society|access-date=March 8, 2011|archive-date=May 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516124347/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1966-hugo-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref> and won the inaugural [[Nebula Award for Best Novel]].<ref name="Nebula 1965">{{cite web|url=http://www.nebulaawards.com/index.php/awards/nebulas/P40/ |title=1965 Nebula Awards |publisher=NebulaAwards.com |access-date=March 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217043400/http://nebulaawards.com/awards/archive/pastwin.htm |archive-date=December 17, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Reviews of the novel have been largely positive, and ''Dune'' is considered by some critics to be the best science fiction book ever written.<ref name="Med">{{Cite book |last=Johansson |first=Frans |author-link=Frans Johansson |url=https://archive.org/details/medicieffect00fran/page/78 |title=The Medici effect: breakthrough insights at the intersection of ideas, concepts, and cultures |publisher=Harvard Business School Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59139-186-9 |location=Boston, Mass |page=[https://archive.org/details/medicieffect00fran/page/78 78]}}</ref> The novel has been translated into dozens of languages, and has sold almost 20 million copies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frank Herbert |url=http://us.macmillan.com/mobile/author/frankherbert |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112153604/http://us.macmillan.com/mobile/author/frankherbert |archive-date=January 12, 2016 |access-date=April 9, 2019 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |quote=Today the novel is more popular than ever ... It has been translated into dozens of languages and has sold almost 20 million copies}}</ref> ''Dune'' has been regularly cited as one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels.<ref name="RIF">{{cite web |date=March 18, 2003 |title=SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental |url=http://pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4302 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928005501/http://pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4302 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=PNNonline.org ([[Internet Archive]]) |quote=Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time ... Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' saga is one of the greatest 20th-century contributions to literature.}}</ref><ref name="Touponce 119">{{Cite book |last=Touponce |first=William F. |title=Frank Herbert |publisher=Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3 |location=Boston, MA |page=119 |chapter=Herbert's Reputation |quote=''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' ran a poll of readers on April 15, 1975, in which ''Dune'' 'was voted the all-time best science-fiction novel ... It has sold over ten million copies in numerous editions.'}}</ref>

[[Arthur C. Clarke]] described ''Dune'' as "unique" and wrote, "I know nothing comparable to it except ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''."<ref name="Amazon40">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0441013597/ |title=''Dune'' 40th Anniversary Edition: Editorial Reviews |date=August 2, 2005 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-441-01359-3 |access-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531174238/https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0441013597/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |url-status=live |via=Amazon.com}}</ref> [[Robert A. Heinlein]] described the novel as "powerful, convincing, and most ingenious."<ref name=Amazon40/><ref name="Praise">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxxwnkPHlfEC&q=Praise%20for%20the%20Dune%20Chronicles|title=Children of Dune|chapter=Praise for the ''Dune'' Chronicles|first=Frank|last=Herbert|date=1976|edition=2008|publisher=[[Penguin Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-1-4406-3051-4|access-date=May 24, 2020|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408035258/https://books.google.com/books?id=RxxwnkPHlfEC&q=Praise%20for%20the%20Dune%20Chronicles|url-status=live}}</ref> It was described as "one of the monuments of modern science fiction" by the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'',<ref name=Amazon40/> and [[P. Schuyler Miller]] called ''Dune'' "one of the landmarks of modern science fiction ... an amazing feat of creation."<ref name="Praise"/> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' described it as "a portrayal of an alien society more complete and deeply detailed than any other author in the field has managed ... a story absorbing equally for its action and philosophical vistas ... An astonishing science fiction phenomenon."<ref name=Amazon40/><ref name="Praise"/> [[Algis Budrys]] praised ''Dune'' for the vividness of its imagined setting, saying "The time lives. It breathes, it speaks, and Herbert has smelt it in his nostrils". He found that the novel, however, "turns flat and tails off at the end. ... [T]ruly effective villains simply simper and melt; fierce men and cunning statesmen and seeresses all bend before this new Messiah". Budrys faulted in particular Herbert's decision to kill Paul's infant son offstage, with no apparent emotional impact, saying "you cannot be so busy saving a world that you cannot hear an infant shriek".<ref name="budrys196604">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=April 1966
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v24n04_1966-04#page/n33/mode/1up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=67–75
}}</ref> After criticizing unrealistic science fiction, [[Carl Sagan]] in 1978 listed ''Dune'' as among stories "that are so tautly constructed, so rich in the accommodating details of an unfamiliar society that they sweep me along before I have even a chance to be critical".<ref name="sagan19780528">{{Cite news |last=Sagan |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Sagan |date=May 28, 1978 |title=Growing up with Science Fiction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/growing-up-with.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211180058/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/growing-up-with.html |archive-date=December 11, 2018 |access-date=December 12, 2018 |work=The New York Times |page=SM7 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

''[[The Louisville Times]]'' wrote, "Herbert's creation of this universe, with its intricate development and analysis of ecology, religion, politics, and philosophy, remains one of the supreme and seminal achievements in science fiction."<ref name="Praise"/> Writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', Jon Michaud praised Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to exclude robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, but suggested that this may be one explanation why ''Dune'' lacks "true fandom among science-fiction fans" to the extent that it "has not penetrated popular culture in the way that ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]]'' have".<ref name="new yorker endures">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dune-endures |title=''Dune'' Endures |first=Jon |last=Michaud |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=July 12, 2013 |access-date=August 18, 2015 |archive-date=August 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822023640/http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dune-endures |url-status=live }}</ref> Tamara I. Hladik wrote that the story "crafts a universe where lesser novels promulgate excuses for sequels. All its rich elements are in balance and plausible—not the patchwork confederacy of made-up languages, contrived customs, and meaningless histories that are the hallmark of so many other, lesser novels."<ref name="Hladik">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue42/classic.html |title=Classic Sci-Fi Reviews: ''Dune''|first=Tamara I.|last=Hladik|publisher=SciFi.com|access-date=April 20, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420150907/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue42/classic.html |archive-date = April 20, 2008}}</ref>

On November 5, 2019, the ''[[BBC News]]'' listed ''Dune'' on its list of the [[BBC list of 100 'most inspiring' novels|100 most influential novels]].<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05/>

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] refused to review ''Dune'', on the grounds that he disliked it "with some intensity" and thus felt it would be unfair to Herbert, another working author, if he gave an honest review of the book.<ref>Cilli, Oronzo 2019, ''Tolkien's Library: An Annotated Checklist''. Luna Press Publishing (August 8, 2019)</ref>

==First edition prints and manuscripts==
The [[first edition]] of ''Dune'' is one of the most valuable in science fiction [[book collecting]]. Copies have been sold for more than $20,000 at auction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/first-editions/frank-herbert-dune-first-edition-philadelphia-chilton-books-1965-first-edition-first-printing-412/a/658-26228.s|title=Frank Herbert: Dune First Edition. (Philadelphia: Chilton Books, &#124; Lot #26228|website=Heritage Auctions|access-date=March 9, 2019|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113005538/https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/first-editions/frank-herbert-dune-first-edition-philadelphia-chilton-books-1965-first-edition-first-printing-412/a/658-26228.s|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[California State University, Fullerton]]'s Pollak Library has several of Herbert's draft manuscripts of ''Dune'' and other works, with the author's notes, in their Frank Herbert Archives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://libraryblogs.fullerton.edu/2014/02/27/remembering-science-fiction-author-frank-herbert-highlighting-his-archives-in-the-pollak-library/ |title=Remembering Science Fiction Author Frank Herbert: Highlighting His Archives In the Pollak Library |publisher=[[California State University, Fullerton]] |date=February 27, 2014 |access-date=October 28, 2014 |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028200107/http://libraryblogs.fullerton.edu/2014/02/27/remembering-science-fiction-author-frank-herbert-highlighting-his-archives-in-the-pollak-library/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Sequels and prequels==
{{see also|Dune (franchise)#Development and publication}}
After ''Dune'' proved to be a critical and financial success for Herbert, he was able to devote himself full time to writing additional novels in the series. He had already drafted parts of the second and third while writing ''Dune''.<ref name="new yorker endures"/> The series included ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969), ''[[Children of Dune]]'' (1976), ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), and ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985), each sequentially continuing on the narrative from ''Dune''. Herbert died on February 11, 1986.<ref name="Post-Gazette Obit">{{cite news |title=Frank Herbert, author of sci-fi best sellers, dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-13feb1986-pit/4656607/ |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=February 13, 1986 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216172036/https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-13feb1986-pit/4656607/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Herbert's son, [[Brian Herbert]], had found several thousand pages of notes left by his father that outlined ideas for other narratives related to ''Dune''. Brian Herbert enlisted author [[Kevin J. Anderson]] to help build out [[prequel]] novels to the events of ''Dune''. Brian Herbert's and Anderson's [[Dune prequel series|''Dune'' prequels]] first started publication in 1999, and have led to additional stories that take place between those of Frank Herbert's books.<ref name="PW Dune 1997">{{cite web |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19971117/35200-pw-bantam-pays-3m-for-dune-prequels-by-herbert-s-son.html |title=Bantam Pays $3M for ''Dune'' Prequels by Herbert's Son |date=November 17, 1997 |first=Judy |last=Quinn |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=February 6, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090058/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19971117/35200-pw-bantam-pays-3m-for-dune-prequels-by-herbert-s-son.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The notes for what would have been ''Dune 7'' also enabled them to publish ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'' (2006) and ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007), sequels to Frank Herbert's final novel ''Chapterhouse: Dune'', which complete the chronological progression of his original series, and wrap up storylines that began in ''Heretics of Dune''.

==Adaptations==
{{Further|Dune (franchise)#In other media}}

''Dune'' has been considered an "[[Unfilmability|unfilmable]]" and "uncontainable" work to adapt from novel to film or other visual medium.<ref name="TimeOct21">{{Cite magazine|first=Sarah|last=Kurchak|title=Why Frank Herbert's Dune Has Proved So Hard to Adapt|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/6108404/dune-adaptations/|language=en|date=October 20, 2021|access-date=October 31, 2021|quote=Lynch's Dune was widely panned in its time.|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020181221/https://time.com/6108404/dune-adaptations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Described by ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'', "It has four appendices and a glossary of its own gibberish, and its action takes place on two planets, one of which is a desert overrun by worms the size of airport runways. Lots of important people die or try to kill each other, and they're all tethered to about eight entangled subplots."<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/story/the-dune-legacy/ | title = Spice World: WIRED Traces the Dune Legacy | date = September 28, 2021 | access-date = September 28, 2021 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | archive-date = September 28, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210928110756/https://www.wired.com/story/the-dune-legacy/ | url-status = live }}</ref> There have been several attempts to achieve this difficult conversion with various degrees of success.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/27/denis-villeneuve-dune-david-lynch-alejandro-jodorowsky | title = Will Denis Villeneuve's Dune finally succeed where others failed? | first = Ben | last = Child | date = August 27, 2021 | access-date = September 28, 2021 | work = [[The Guardian]] | archive-date = August 27, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210827131928/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/aug/27/denis-villeneuve-dune-david-lynch-alejandro-jodorowsky | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Early stalled attempts===
In 1971, the production company Apjac International (APJ) (headed by [[Arthur P. Jacobs]]) optioned the [[film rights|rights to film]] ''Dune''. As Jacobs was busy with other projects, such as the sequel to ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'', ''Dune'' was delayed for another year. Jacobs' first choice for director was [[David Lean]], but he turned down the offer. [[Charles Jarrott]] was also considered to direct. Work was also under way on a script while the hunt for a director continued. Initially, the first treatment had been handled by [[Robert Greenhut]], the producer who had lobbied Jacobs to make the movie in the first place, but subsequently [[Rospo Pallenberg]] was approached to write the script, with shooting scheduled to begin in 1974. However, Jacobs died in 1973.<ref name="Dune: Book to Screen Timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/timeline.asp |title=''Dune'': Book to Screen Timeline |publisher=Duneinfo.com |access-date=January 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517163719/http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/timeline.asp |archive-date=May 17, 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Jodorowskys Dune.jpg|thumb|left|310px|Pre-release flyer for Jodorowsky's ''Dune'']]
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights from APJ, with [[Alejandro Jodorowsky]] set to direct.<ref name="Metal Hurlant">{{cite web |url=http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/jodorowsky/ |title=''Dune: Le Film Que Vous Ne Verrez Jamais'' (''Dune'': The Film You Will Never See) |first=Alejandro |last=Jodorowsky |work=[[Métal Hurlant]] |issue=107 |year=1985 |publisher=DuneInfo.com |access-date=February 8, 2014 |archive-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221000125/http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/jodorowsky/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1975, Jodorowsky planned to film the story as a 3-hour feature, set to star his own son [[Brontis Jodorowsky]] in the lead role of Paul Atreides, [[Salvador Dalí]] as [[Shaddam IV]], Padishah Emperor, [[Amanda Lear]] as [[Princess Irulan]], [[Orson Welles]] as [[Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]], [[Gloria Swanson]] as [[Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam]], [[David Carradine]] as [[Duke Leto Atreides]], [[Geraldine Chaplin]] as [[Lady Jessica]], [[Alain Delon]] as [[Duncan Idaho]], [[Hervé Villechaize]] as [[Gurney Halleck]], [[Udo Kier]] as Piter De Vries, and [[Mick Jagger]] as [[Feyd-Rautha]]. It was at first proposed to score the film with original music by [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]], [[Henry Cow]], and [[Magma (band)|Magma]]; later on, the soundtrack was to be provided by [[Pink Floyd]].<ref>Chris Cutler, book included with Henry Cow 40th Anniversary CD box set (2008)</ref> Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of [[Chris Foss]], a British artist who designed covers for science fiction periodicals, [[Jean Giraud|Jean Giraud (Moebius)]], a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for ''[[Metal Hurlant]]'' magazine, and [[H. R. Giger]].<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> Moebius began designing creatures and characters for the film, while Foss was brought in to design the film's space ships and hardware.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> Giger began designing the Harkonnen Castle based on Moebius's [[storyboard]]s. [[Dan O'Bannon]] was to head the special effects department.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/>

Dalí was cast as the Emperor.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> Dalí later demanded to be paid $100,000 per hour; Jodorowsky agreed, but tailored Dalí's part to be filmed in one hour, drafting plans for other scenes of the emperor to use a mechanical mannequin as substitute for Dalí.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> According to Giger, Dalí was "later invited to leave the film because of his pro-[[Francisco Franco|Franco]] statements".<ref>Falk, Gaby (ed). ''HR GIGER Arh+''. Taschen, 2001, p.52</ref> Just as the storyboards, designs, and script were finished, the financial backing dried up. Frank Herbert traveled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phone book", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. Jodorowsky said in 1985 that he found the ''Dune'' story mythical and had intended to re-create it rather than adapt the novel; though he had an "enthusiastic admiration" for Herbert, Jodorowsky said he had done everything possible to distance the author and his input from the project.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> Although Jodorowsky was embittered by the experience, he said the ''Dune'' project changed his life, and some of the ideas were used in his and Moebius's ''[[The Incal]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kalder|first=Daniel|date=January 25, 2011|title=Alejandro Jodorowsky's dance on the edge of meaning|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jan/25/alejandro-jodorowsky|access-date=July 28, 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> O'Bannon entered a psychiatric hospital after the production failed, then worked on 13 scripts, the last of which became ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]''.<ref name="Metal Hurlant"/> A 2013 documentary, ''[[Jodorowsky's Dune]]'', was made about Jodorowsky's failed attempt at an adaptation.

In 1976, [[Dino De Laurentiis]] acquired the rights from Gibon's consortium. De Laurentiis commissioned Herbert to write a new screenplay in 1978; the script Herbert turned in was 175 pages long, the equivalent of nearly three hours of screen time. De Laurentiis then hired director [[Ridley Scott]] in 1979, with [[Rudy Wurlitzer]] writing the screenplay and H. R. Giger retained from the Jodorowsky production; Scott and Giger had also just worked together on the film ''Alien'', after O'Bannon recommended the artist.<ref name="visualists">"The Visualists: Direction and Design", ''The Beast Within: The Making of Alien''.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McIntee |first=David |author-link=David A. McIntee |title=Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to the Alien and Predator Films |publisher=[[Telos Publishing]] |year=2005 |location=[[Surrey]] |page=27 |isbn=978-1-903889-94-7}}</ref> Scott intended to split the novel into two movies. He worked on three drafts of the script, using ''[[The Battle of Algiers (film)|The Battle of Algiers]]'' as a point of reference, before moving on to direct another science fiction film, ''[[Blade Runner]]'' (1982). As he recalls, the pre-production process was slow, and finishing the project would have been even more time-intensive:

<blockquote>But after seven months I dropped out of ''Dune'', by then Rudy Wurlitzer had come up with a first-draft script which I felt was a decent distillation of Frank Herbert's. But I also realised ''Dune'' was going to take a lot more work—at least two and a half years' worth. And I didn't have the heart to attack that because my older brother Frank unexpectedly died of cancer while I was prepping the De Laurentiis picture. Frankly, that freaked me out. So I went to Dino and told him the ''Dune'' script was his.
:—From ''Ridley Scott: The Making of his Movies'' by Paul M. Sammon</blockquote>

A draft of the screenplay for the Scott version was discovered in 2024 in the [[Wheaton College (Illinois)|Wheaton College]] archives.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/ridley-scotts-lost-dune-script-found-i-dont-think-it-wouldve-made-fans-happy | first = Max | last = Evry | title = Ridley Scott's Lost Dune Script Found: 'I Don't Think It Would've Made Fans Happy' | date = December 13, 2024 | access-date = December 13, 2024 | work = [[IGN]] }}</ref>

===1984 film by David Lynch===
{{main|Dune (1984 film)}}
In 1981, the nine-year film rights were set to expire. De Laurentiis re-negotiated the rights from the author, adding to them the rights to the ''Dune'' sequels (written and unwritten). After seeing ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'', De Laurentiis' daughter [[Raffaella De Laurentiis|Raffaella]] decided that [[David Lynch]] should direct the movie. Around that time Lynch received several other directing offers, including ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''. He agreed to direct ''Dune'' and write the screenplay even though he had not read the book, was not familiar with the story, or even been interested in science fiction.<ref>''[[Cinefantastique]]'', September 1984 (Vol 14, No 4 & 5 – Double issue).</ref> Lynch worked on the script for six months with [[Eric Bergren]] and Christopher De Vore. The team yielded two drafts of the script before it split over creative differences. Lynch would subsequently work on five more drafts. Production of the work was troubled by problems at the Mexican studio and hampering the film's timeline.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/04/movies/the-world-of-dune-is-filmed-in-mexico.html | title = The World Of 'Dune' Is Filmed In Mexico | first = Aljean | last = Harmetz | date = September 4, 1983 | access-date = October 31, 2021 | work = [[The New York Times]] | archive-date = November 1, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211101030112/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/04/movies/the-world-of-dune-is-filmed-in-mexico.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Lynch ended up producing a nearly three-hour-long film, but at demands from [[Universal Pictures]], the film's distributor, he cut it back to about two hours, hastily filming additional scenes to make up for some of the cut footage.<ref name="gizmodo lynch alan smithee">{{cite web | url = https://gizmodo.com/the-story-of-dune-david-lynch-and-hollywoods-most-not-1843885321 | title = The Story of Dune, David Lynch, and Hollywood's Most Notorious Pseudonym | first = Eleanor | last = Fye | date = June 8, 2020 | access-date = October 31, 2021 | work = [[Gizmodo]] | archive-date = September 29, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210929133414/https://gizmodo.com/the-story-of-dune-david-lynch-and-hollywoods-most-not-1843885321 | url-status = live }}</ref>

This [[Dune (1984 film)|first film]] of ''Dune'', directed by Lynch, was released in 1984, nearly 20 years after the book's publication. Though Herbert said the book's depth and symbolism seemed to intimidate many filmmakers, he was pleased with the film, saying that "They've got it. It begins as ''Dune'' does. And I hear my dialogue all the way through. There are some interpretations and liberties, but you're gonna come out knowing you've seen ''Dune''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20088153,00.html|last=Rozen|first=Leah|title=With Another Best-Seller and An Upcoming Film, ''Dune'' Is Busting Out All Over For Frank Herbert|date=June 25, 1984|website=[[People (magazine)|People]]|volume=21|issue=25|pages=129–130|access-date=March 21, 2010|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205402/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20088153,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Reviews of the film were negative, saying that it was incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book, and that fans would be disappointed by the way it strayed from the book's plot.<ref name="TimeOct21"/><ref name="Screen">Feeney, Mark. "Screen of dreams." ''The Boston Globe''. (December 16, 2007) p. N12.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Messy, Misunderstood Glory of David Lynch's Dune|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-messy-misunderstood-glory-of-david-lynchs-em-dune-em/284316/|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=March 14, 2014|language=en|access-date=October 31, 2021|quote=The deeply flawed film version of Frank Herbert's novel was universally hated when it premiered 30 years ago...|archive-date=March 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314222520/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-messy-misunderstood-glory-of-david-lynchs-em-dune-em/284316/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Johnny|last=Oleksinski|title=David Lynch's 1984 'Dune' is still the stuff of migraines|url=https://nypost.com/2021/10/21/david-lynchs-1984-dune-is-still-the-stuff-of-migraines/|website=[[New York Post]]|language=en|date=October 21, 2021|access-date=October 31, 2021|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021232606/https://nypost.com/2021/10/21/david-lynchs-1984-dune-is-still-the-stuff-of-migraines/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Dune|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dune|website=Metacritic|language=en|access-date=October 30, 2021|archive-date=October 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005002159/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dune|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon release for television and other forms of home media, Universal opted to reintroduce much of the footage that Lynch had cut, creating an over-three-hour-long version with extensive monologue exposition. Lynch was extremely displeased with this move, and demanded that Universal replace his name on these cuts with the pseudonym "[[Alan Smithee]]", and has generally distanced himself from the film since.<ref name="gizmodo lynch alan smithee"/>

===2000 miniseries by John Harrison===
{{main|Frank Herbert's Dune}}
In 2000, [[John Harrison (filmmaker)|John Harrison]] adapted the novel into ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'', a [[miniseries]] that premiered on the [[Syfy|Sci-Fi Channel]].<ref name="NYT 2000"/> As of 2004, the miniseries was one of the three highest-rated programs broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070703213605/http://www.digitalwebbing.com/interviews/042104_anderson.html Kevin J. Anderson Interview ~ DigitalWebbing.com] (2004) [[Internet Archive]], July 3, 2007.</ref>

===Further film attempts===
In 2008, [[Paramount Pictures]] announced that they would produce a new film based on the book, with [[Peter Berg]] attached to direct.<ref name="Variety 2008-03-17">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2008/film/features/berg-to-direct-dune-for-paramount-1117982560/|title=Berg to direct ''Dune'' for Paramount|first=Tatiana|last=Siegel|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 18, 2008|access-date=February 15, 2019|archive-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215215735/https://variety.com/2008/film/features/berg-to-direct-dune-for-paramount-1117982560/|url-status=live}}</ref> Producer [[Kevin Misher]], who spent a year securing the rights from the Herbert estate, was to be joined by Richard Rubinstein and John Harrison (of both Sci-Fi Channel miniseries) as well as Sarah Aubrey and Mike Messina.<ref name="Variety 2008-03-17"/> The producers stated that they were going for a "faithful adaptation" of the novel and considered "its theme of finite ecological resources particularly timely".<ref name="Variety 2008-03-17"/> Science fiction author [[Kevin J. Anderson]] and Frank Herbert's son [[Brian Herbert]], who had together written multiple ''Dune'' [[sequel]]s and [[prequel]]s since 1999, were attached to the project as technical advisors.<ref name="AMC 2009-08">{{cite web|last=Neuman |first=Clayton |date=August 17, 2009 |url=http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2009/08/brian-herbert-interview.php |title=''Winds of Dune'' Author Brian Herbert on Flipping the Myth of Jihad |publisher=AMCtv.com |access-date=August 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921011119/http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2009/08/brian-herbert-interview.php |archive-date=September 21, 2009 }}</ref> In October 2009, Berg dropped out of the project, later saying that it "for a variety of reasons wasn't the right thing" for him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinoreview.com/news/special-preview-el-guapo-spends-a-day-on-a-navy-destroyer-for-peter-berg-s-battleship-8681|title=Special Preview: El Guapo Spends A Day On A Navy Destroyer For Peter Berg's ''Battleship''!|first=George|last=Roush|publisher=LatinoReview.com|date=December 1, 2009|access-date=January 5, 2010|archive-date=June 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628015542/http://www.latinoreview.com/news/special-preview-el-guapo-spends-a-day-on-a-navy-destroyer-for-peter-berg-s-battleship-8681|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, with a script draft by Joshua Zetumer, Paramount reportedly sought a new director who could do the film for under $175 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/dune-remake-update.php|title=Pajiba Exclusive: An Update on the ''Dune'' Remake|first=Dustin|last=Rowles|publisher=Pajiba.com|date=October 27, 2009|access-date=January 5, 2010|archive-date=October 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030165116/http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/dune-remake-update.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2010, [[Pierre Morel]] was signed on to direct, with screenwriter Chase Palmer incorporating Morel's vision of the project into Zetumer's original draft.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/01/04/dune-remake/ |title=''Dune'' remake back on track with director Pierre Morel |last=Sperling |first=Nicole |date=January 4, 2010 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=January 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114042042/http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/01/04/dune-remake/ |archive-date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref>[http://screencrave.com/2010-02-11/dune-remake-lands-new-screenwriter ''Dune'' Remake Lands New Screenwriter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810053208/http://screencrave.com/2010-02-11/dune-remake-lands-new-screenwriter/ |date=August 10, 2011 }}, ''Screen Crave'', February 11, 2010</ref> By November 2010, Morel left the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2010/11/sands-of-time-running-short-for-paramounts-dune-adaptation-82546/ |title=Sands of Time Running Out For New ''Dune'' |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |first=Mike |last=Fleming |date=November 8, 2010 |access-date=December 27, 2010 |archive-date=December 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222194241/http://www.deadline.com/2010/11/sands-of-time-running-short-for-paramounts-dune-adaptation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Paramount finally dropped plans for a remake in March 2011.<ref>{{cite news | first=Simon | last=Reynolds | date=March 23, 2011 | title=''Dune'' remake dropped by Paramount | work=Digital Spy | url=http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a310618/dune-remake-dropped-by-paramount.html | access-date=March 24, 2011 | archive-date=September 24, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924015642/http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a310618/dune-remake-dropped-by-paramount.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Films by Denis Villeneuve===
{{main|Dune (2021 film)|Dune: Part Two}}
In November 2016, [[Legendary Entertainment]] acquired the film and TV rights for ''Dune''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2016/11/dune-frank-herbert-sci-fi-novel-legendary-rights-acquisition-1201858221/ |title=Legendary Acquires Frank Herbert's Classic Sci-Fi Novel ''Dune'' For Film And TV |first=Anita |last=Busch |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=November 21, 2016 |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222045356/http://deadline.com/2016/11/dune-frank-herbert-sci-fi-novel-legendary-rights-acquisition-1201858221/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/legendary-dune-frank-herbert-1201923648/ |title=Legendary Lands Rights to Classic Sci-Fi Novel ''Dune'' |work=Variety |first=Justin |last=Kroll |date=November 21, 2016 |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222044604/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/legendary-dune-frank-herbert-1201923648/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported in December 2016 that [[Denis Villeneuve]] was in negotiations to direct the project,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/denis-villeneuve-dune-reboot-legendary-pictures-1201929280/ |title=''Blade Runner 2049'' Helmer Denis Villeneuve Eyed to Direct ''Dune'' Reboot |work=Variety |first=Justin |last=Kroll |date=December 21, 2016 |access-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222065624/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/denis-villeneuve-dune-reboot-legendary-pictures-1201929280/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was confirmed in February 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/02/01/official-dune-reboot-legendary-pictures-director/ |title=It's Official: The ''Dune'' Reboot Has Found Its Director |publisher=[[Bleeding Cool]] |first=Bill |last=Watters |date=February 1, 2017 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107151653/https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/02/01/official-dune-reboot-legendary-pictures-director/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2017, Legendary announced that [[Eric Roth]] would write the screenplay.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kroll|first1=Justin|title=''Forrest Gump'' Writer Eric Roth to Pen Denis Villeneuve's ''Dune'' Reboot|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/dune-reboot-writer-eric-roth-denis-villeneuve-1201998001/|access-date=July 21, 2017|work=Variety|date=April 5, 2017|archive-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215012243/https://variety.com/2017/film/news/dune-reboot-writer-eric-roth-denis-villeneuve-1201998001/|url-status=live}}</ref> Villeneuve explained in March 2018 that his adaptation will be split into two films, with the first installment scheduled to begin production in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/denis-villeneuve-says-hes-now-making-two-dune-movies-1823660070|title=Denis Villeneuve says he's now making two ''Dune'' movies, actually|first=William|last=Hughes|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=September 28, 2018|archive-date=May 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528051313/https://www.avclub.com/denis-villeneuve-says-hes-now-making-two-dune-movies-1823660070|url-status=live}}</ref> Casting includes [[Timothée Chalamet]] as Paul Atreides,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/dune-star-timothee-chalamet-also-loves-the-david-lynch-1829369935|title=''Dune'' star Timothée Chalamet also loves the David Lynch version|first=Randall|last=Colburn|website=The A.V. Club|date=September 27, 2018|access-date=September 28, 2018|archive-date=September 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927230034/https://news.avclub.com/dune-star-timothee-chalamet-also-loves-the-david-lynch-1829369935|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Dave Bautista]] as Rabban, [[Stellan Skarsgård]] as Baron Harkonnen,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/stellan-skarsg-play-villain-legendarys-dune-1174870 | title = Stellan Skarsgard to Play Villain in Legendary's ''Dune'' | first = Borys | last = Kit | date = January 9, 2019 | access-date = January 9, 2019 | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | archive-date = April 17, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210417082200/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/stellan-skarsg-play-villain-legendarys-dune-1174870 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Rebecca Ferguson]] as Lady Jessica,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rebecca-ferguson-talks-star-denis-villeneuves-dune-1140223 | title = Rebecca Ferguson in Talks to Star in Denis Villeneuve's ''Dune'' | first = Borys | last = Kit | date = September 5, 2018 | access-date = January 16, 2019 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | archive-date = September 6, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180906210447/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/rebecca-ferguson-talks-star-denis-villeneuves-dune-1140223 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Charlotte Rampling]] as Reverend Mother Mohiam,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/charlotte-rampling-joins-timothee-chalamet-dune-1176429 | title = Charlotte Rampling Joins Timothee Chalamet in ''Dune'' | first = Borys | last = Kit | date = January 15, 2019 | access-date = January 16, 2019 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | archive-date = January 30, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190130183639/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/charlotte-rampling-joins-timothee-chalamet-dune-1176429 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Oscar Isaac]] as Duke Leto Atreides,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |last2=Couch |first2=Aaron |date=January 29, 2019 |title=Oscar Isaac Joining Denis Villeneuve's ''Dune'' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dune-movie-casts-oscar-isaac-1180655 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130053632/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dune-movie-casts-oscar-isaac-1180655 |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |access-date=January 30, 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> [[Zendaya]] as Chani,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dune-movie-zendaya-early-talks-star-1181245 | title = Zendaya Circling Denis Villeneuve's ''Dune'' | first = Mia | last = Galuppo | date = January 30, 2019 | access-date = January 30, 2019 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | archive-date = January 31, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190131145217/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dune-movie-zendaya-early-talks-star-1181245 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Javier Bardem]] as Stilgar,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/javier-bardem-dune-reboot-1203126074/|title=Javier Bardem Joins Timothee Chalamet in ''Dune'' Reboot|first=Justin|last=Kroll|work=Variety|date=February 1, 2019|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=February 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210518/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/javier-bardem-dune-reboot-1203126074/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Josh Brolin]] as Gurney Halleck,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/josh-brolin-dune-reboot-1203138493/|title=Josh Brolin Joins Timothee Chalamet in Star-Studded ''Dune'' Reboot|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Variety|date=February 13, 2019|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214145013/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/josh-brolin-dune-reboot-1203138493/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jason Momoa]] as Duncan Idaho,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/jason-momoa-dune-reboot-legendary-1203140272/|title=Jason Momoa Joins Timothee Chalamet, Javier Bardem in ''Dune'' Reboot|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Variety|date=February 14, 2019|access-date=February 14, 2019|archive-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215032347/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/jason-momoa-dune-reboot-legendary-1203140272/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[David Dastmalchian]] as Piter De Vries,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/02/legendary-dune-david-dastmalchian-1202560175/|title=Legendary's ''Dune'' Film Adds ''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' Actor David Dastmalchian|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Amanda|last=N'Duka|date=February 19, 2019|access-date=February 19, 2019|archive-date=February 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220063048/https://deadline.com/2019/02/legendary-dune-david-dastmalchian-1202560175/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Chang Chen]] as Dr. Yueh,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/chang-chen-cast-legendarys-dune-movie-1195239|title=Chang Chen Joining Denis Villeneuve's ''Dune''|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Aaron|last=Couch|date=March 17, 2019|access-date=March 17, 2019|archive-date=March 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319123430/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/chang-chen-cast-legendarys-dune-movie-1195239|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Stephen Henderson (actor)|Stephen Henderson]] as [[Thufir Hawat]].<ref name="VF 2020">{{cite web | url = https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/behold-dune-an-exclusive-look-at-timothee-chalamet-zendaya-oscar-isaac | title = Behold ''Dune'': An Exclusive Look at Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, and More | first = Anthony | last = Breznican | date = April 14, 2020 | access-date = April 14, 2020 | work = [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] | archive-date = April 14, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200414123142/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/behold-dune-an-exclusive-look-at-timothee-chalamet-zendaya-oscar-isaac | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] distributed the film, which had its initial premiere on September 3, 2021, at the [[Venice Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/venice-film-festival-2021-dune-films-red-carpet-1234972195/ |title=Venice Fest Prepares to Roll Out Red Carpet for Full-Fledged Physical Edition (Exclusive) |last=Vivarelli |first=Nick |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=May 14, 2021 |access-date=May 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514181308/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/venice-film-festival-2021-dune-films-red-carpet-1234972195/ |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> and wide release in both theaters and streaming on [[HBO Max]] on October 21, 2021, as part of Warner Bros.' approach to handling the impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] on the film industry.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-set-to-premiere-on-hbo-max-one-day-early | title = Dune Set to Premiere on HBO Max One Day Early | first = Adam | last = Bankhurst | date = October 17, 2021 | access-date = October 17, 2021 | work = [[IGN]] | archive-date = October 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211018045820/https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-set-to-premiere-on-hbo-max-one-day-early | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="HBO Max release">{{cite web |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/dune-release-confusion-hbo-max-streaming-1234638388/ |title=''Dune'' Release Confusion: Warner Bros. Says Denis Villeneuve's Epic Still Set for HBO Max Plan |last=Sharf |first=Zack |website=[[IndieWire]] |date=May 18, 2021 |access-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518173413/https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/dune-release-confusion-hbo-max-streaming-1234638388/ |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film received "generally favorable reviews" on [[Metacritic]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Dune: Part One''|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dune-part-one|website=Metacritic|language=en|access-date=October 30, 2021|archive-date=October 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026232003/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dune-part-one|url-status=live}}</ref> It has gone on to win multiple awards and was named by the [[National Board of Review]] as one of the 10 best films of 2021, as well as the [[American Film Institute]] in their annual top 10 list.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/12/afi-top-films-tv-2021-dune-power-of-the-dog-succession-1234684338/|title=AFI's Top Films and TV of 2021 Include ''Dune'', ''Power of the Dog'', and ''Succession''|date=December 8, 2021|access-date=January 21, 2022|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121231851/https://www.indiewire.com/2021/12/afi-top-films-tv-2021-dune-power-of-the-dog-succession-1234684338/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film went on to be nominated for ten [[Academy Awards]], winning six, the most wins of the night for any film in contention.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/dune-wins-6-oscars-academy-awards-2022|title=''Dune'' wins 6 Oscars at Academy Awards|first=Jeff|last=Spry|date=March 28, 2022|website=Space.com|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-date=March 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331171042/https://www.space.com/dune-wins-6-oscars-academy-awards-2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

A sequel, ''[[Dune: Part Two]]'', was scheduled for release on November 3, 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-03 |title=Dune: Part Two Trailer Promises More Action than Ever Before – The MuseVille |url=https://themuseville.com/dune-part-two-trailer-promises-more-action-than-ever-before/ |access-date=2023-05-12 |language=en-US |archive-date=May 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512174326/https://themuseville.com/dune-part-two-trailer-promises-more-action-than-ever-before/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> but was released on March 1, 2024, due to the [[2023 SAG-AFTRA strike]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/dune-2-delayed-2024-strikes-1235703991/ | title='Dune: Part Two' Delayed to 2024 Amid Strikes | date=August 24, 2023 | access-date=August 25, 2023 | archive-date=August 25, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825142650/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/dune-2-delayed-2024-strikes-1235703991/ | url-status=live }}</ref> It had its world premiere at the [[Odeon Luxe Leicester Square]], London, on February 15, 2024, and opened in the United States on March 1. It received critical acclaim especially for its visual effects and has grossed over $711 million worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing [[2024 in film|film of 2024]].

=== Audiobooks ===
In 1993, [[Recorded Books]] Inc. released a 20-disc [[audiobook]] narrated by [[George Guidall]]. In 2007, [[Audio Renaissance]] released an audio book narrated by [[Simon Vance]] with some parts performed by [[Scott Brick]], [[Orlagh Cassidy]], [[Euan Morton]], and other performers.

==Cultural influence==
{{example farm|section|date=August 2024}}
''Dune'' has been widely influential, inspiring numerous novels, music, films, television, games, and comic books.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Adam|title=Science Fiction|url=https://archive.org/details/sciencefiction00robe|url-access=limited|location=New York|publisher=Routledge|date=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sciencefiction00robe/page/n95 85]–90|isbn=978-0-415-19204-0}}</ref> It is considered one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time, with numerous modern science fiction works owing their existence to ''Dune''.{{cn|date=March 2025}}'' Dune'' has been referenced in numerous works of [[popular culture]], including ''[[Star Wars]]'', ''[[Star Trek]]'', ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise)|Chronicles of Riddick]]'', ''[[The Kingkiller Chronicle]]'' and ''[[Futurama]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bardinelli |first=John |date=April 30, 2015 |title=Dune at 50: Pop Culture Is Hooked on Spice |url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/dune-at-50-pop-culture-is-hooked-on-spice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916102626/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/dune-at-50-pop-culture-is-hooked-on-spice/ |archive-date=September 16, 2020 |access-date=April 13, 2020 |website=[[Barnes & Noble]]}}</ref> ''Dune'' was cited as a source of inspiration for [[Hayao Miyazaki]]'s [[anime]] film ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' (1984) for its post-apocalyptic world.<ref name="hm">{{cite book |last=McCarthy |first=Helen |title=Hayao Miyazaki Master of Japanese Animation |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-880656-41-9 |pages=72–92}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hayao Miyazaki. Exploring the early work of Japan's greatest animator {{!}} IIAS |url=https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/hayao-miyazaki-exploring-early-work-japans-greatest-animator |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031201403/https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/hayao-miyazaki-exploring-early-work-japans-greatest-animator |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=September 20, 2021 |website=iias.asia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 10, 2020|title=10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind|url=https://screenrant.com/facts-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/|access-date=September 20, 2021|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|archive-date=September 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213116/https://screenrant.com/facts-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NAUSICAA & DUNE (JAPANESE ANIMATION NEWS & REVIEW, 7/91) |url=http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/oldstuff/naus-dune.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127170902/http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/oldstuff/naus-dune.html |archive-date=November 27, 2021 |access-date=September 20, 2021 |website=nausicaa.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Dazed|date=September 17, 2021|title=How Dune inspired Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/54206/1/how-dune-inspired-hayao-miyazaki-s-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind|access-date=September 20, 2021|website=Dazed|language=en|archive-date=September 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919004412/https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/54206/1/how-dune-inspired-hayao-miyazaki-s-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Dune'' was parodied in 1984's ''[[National Lampoon's Doon]]'' by [[Ellis Weiner]], which William F. Touponce called "something of a tribute to Herbert's success on college campuses", noting that "the only other book to have been so honored is [[Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''," which [[Bored of the Rings|was parodied]] by ''[[The Harvard Lampoon]]'' in 1969.<ref>{{cite book|last=Touponce|year=1988|title=Frank Herbert|chapter=Herbert's Reputation|page=119|publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=978-0-8057-7514-3}}</ref>

===Music===
* In 1977, [[David Matthews (keyboardist)|David Matthews]] became one of the first artists to dedicate an entire composition to ''Dune,'' publishing an album of the same name on [[CTI Records]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1977 |title=David Matthews - Dune |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/544208-David-Matthews-Dune |website=[[Discogs]] |access-date=November 17, 2023 |archive-date=November 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117174035/https://www.discogs.com/release/544208-David-Matthews-Dune |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 1978, French [[electronic music]]ian [[Heldon|Richard Pinhas]] released the nine-track ''Dune''-inspired album ''Chronolyse'', which includes the seven-part ''Variations sur le thème des Bene Gesserit''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Richard-Pinhas-Chronolyse/release/1070353|title=Richard Pinhas – Chronolyse|date=September 21, 1978|publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=March 9, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312033837/https://www.discogs.com/Richard-Pinhas-Chronolyse/release/1070353|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 1979, German electronic music pioneer [[Klaus Schulze]] released an LP titled ''[[Dune (Klaus Schulze album)|Dune]]'' featuring motifs and lyrics inspired by the novel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Klaus-Schulze-Dune/release/868540|title=Klaus Schulze – Dune|date=September 21, 1979|publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=March 9, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312034145/https://www.discogs.com/Klaus-Schulze-Dune/release/868540|url-status=live}}</ref>
* A similar musical project, ''Visions of Dune'', was released also in 1979 by Zed (a pseudonym of French electronic musician Bernard Sjazner).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Zed-Visions-Of-Dune/release/2771879|title=Zed (5) – Visions Of Dune|date=September 21, 1979 |publisher=[[Discogs]]}}</ref>
* 1981 French [[zeuhl]] band [[Dün (band)|Dün]] released their album ''[[Eros (Dün album)|Eros]]'' which was inspired by the Dune novel, also their band name ''Dün'' was a short form from their temporary name ''Dune''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Booklet CD Eros |url=https://musicbrainz.org/release/83c5c266-ed14-425d-ac9d-1b5613d33291/cover-art |publisher=Soleil Zeuhl |date=2000 |language=en, fr |access-date=2024-04-10 |archive-date=May 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531174242/https://musicbrainz.org/release/83c5c266-ed14-425d-ac9d-1b5613d33291/cover-art |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Heavy metal band [[Iron Maiden]] wrote the song "To Tame a Land" based on the ''Dune'' story. It appears as the closing track to their 1983 album ''[[Piece of Mind]]''. The original working title of the song was "Dune"; however, the band was denied permission to use it, with Frank Herbert's agents stating "Frank Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially bands like Iron Maiden".<ref>{{cite book |last=Wall |first=Mick |title=Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.) |publisher=Sanctuary Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86074-542-3 |page=244}}</ref>
* ''Dune'' inspired the German [[happy hardcore]] band [[Dune (band)|Dune]], who have released several albums with space travel-themed songs.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
* The progressive hardcore band [[Shai Hulud (band)|Shai Hulud]] took their name from ''Dune''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-10-25 |title=Interview: Matt Fox (Shai Hulud, Zombie Apocalypse) |url=https://www.noecho.net/interviews/matt-fox-shai-hulud-zombie-apocalypse |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920040817/https://www.noecho.net/interviews/matt-fox-shai-hulud-zombie-apocalypse |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=noecho.net |language=en}}</ref>
* In 1988, New Zealand rock band [[Shihad]] chose their name based on "Jihad", the holy war scene from David Lynch's 1984 film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/18-02-2023/twenty-one-years-ago-shihad-changed-their-name-then-all-hell-broke-loose |title=Twenty-one years ago, Shihad changed their name. Then all hell broke loose |work=The Spinoff |last=Schultz |first=Chris |date=February 18, 2023 |access-date=January 17, 2025}}</ref>
* "Traveller in Time", from the 1991 [[Blind Guardian]] album ''[[Tales from the Twilight World]]'', is based mostly on Paul Atreides' visions of future and past.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709111236/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419200536 ''St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture'' by Craig T. Cobane] Retrieved July 12, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://stason.org/TULARC/education-books/frank-herbert-dune/7-2-Has-Dune-inspired-other-music.html Has ''Dune'' inspired other music? – Stason.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616112430/http://stason.org/TULARC/education-books/frank-herbert-dune/7-2-Has-Dune-inspired-other-music.html |date=June 16, 2017 }} Retrieved July 12, 2008.</ref>
* The title of the 1993 [[Fear Factory]] album ''Fear is The Mindkiller'' is a quote from the "[[litany against fear]]".<ref>[[Fear Is the Mindkiller|''Album Fear is the Mindkiller'' by Burton C. Bell, Dino Cazares]] Retrieved September 10, 2020.</ref>
* The song "Near Fantastica", from the Matthew Good album ''[[Avalanche (Matthew Good album)|Avalanche]]'', makes reference to the "[[litany against fear]]", repeating "can't feel fear, fear's the mind killer" through a section of the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.justsomelyrics.com/503492/Matthew-Good-Near-Fantastica-Lyrics|title=Matthew Good Near Fantastica Lyrics|work=Justsomelyrics.com|access-date=August 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104013852/http://www.justsomelyrics.com/503492/Matthew-Good-Near-Fantastica-Lyrics|archive-date=November 4, 2015}}</ref>
* In the Fatboy Slim song "[[Weapon of Choice (song)|Weapon of Choice]]", the line "If you walk without rhythm/You won't attract the worm" is a near quotation from the sections of novel in which Stilgar teaches Paul to ride sandworms. [[Christopher Walken]], who would later star in ''Dune: Part Two'' as Emperor Shaddam IV, appears in the music video.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/christopher-walken-dune-emperor-fatboy-slim-1352415|title=Christopher Walken Cast in Dune: Part Two, Just as Fatboy Slim Prophesied|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=May 12, 2022|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=March 17, 2024|archive-date=March 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317105121/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/christopher-walken-dune-emperor-fatboy-slim-1352415/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Dune'' also inspired the 1999 album ''The 2nd Moon'' by the German death metal band [[Golem (band)|Golem]], which is a [[concept album]] about the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.golem-metal.de/Downloads/Docs/download.php?file=Golem-1999-The2ndMoon.doc|title=Golem lyrics and info: ''The 2nd Moon'' (1999)|publisher=Golem-metal.de|access-date=July 10, 2009|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221203445/http://www.golem-metal.de/Downloads/Docs/download.php?file=Golem-1999-The2ndMoon.doc|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The song "The Eyes of Ibad" from [[Panchiko]]'s 2000 EP ''[[Deathmetal (EP)|D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L]]'', takes its name from ''Dune'', referencing the blue-in-blue eyes of the Fremen.
* ''Dune'' influenced [[Thirty Seconds to Mars]] on their [[30 Seconds to Mars (album)|self-titled debut album]].<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022232229/http://www.marsdust.com/30stm.htm|archive-date=October 22, 2006|title=Space, symbols, and synth-rock imbue the metaphoric musical world of 30 Seconds To Mars|work=Mars Dust|publisher=Mysterian Media|last=Lowachee|first=Karin|author-link=Karin Lowachee|year=2003|url=http://www.marsdust.com/30stm.htm}}</ref>
* The [[Youngblood Brass Band]]'s song "Is an Elegy" on ''[[Center:Level:Roar]]'' references "[[Muad'Dib]]", "[[Arrakis]]" and other elements from the novel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youngbloodbrassband.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000929173838/http://www.youngbloodbrassband.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 29, 2000|title=Re-Direct|publisher=Youngblood Brass Band|access-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref>
* The debut album of Canadian musician [[Grimes (musician)|Grimes]], called ''[[Geidi Primes]]'', is a concept album based on ''Dune''.<ref name="nme">{{cite web|first=Kevin EG|last=Perry|url=https://www.nme.com/features/our-album-of-the-year-winner-grimes-the-full-nme-cover-feature|title=Our Album Of The Year Winner Grimes – The Full NME Cover Feature|work=[[NME]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|date=December 4, 2015|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=April 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407190845/https://www.nme.com/features/our-album-of-the-year-winner-grimes-the-full-nme-cover-feature-629|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/31/claire-boucher-grimes-art-angels|title=Grimes: 'In my life, I'm a lot more weird than this'|last=Aroesti|first=Rachel|date=October 31, 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=June 22, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916212735/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/31/claire-boucher-grimes-art-angels|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2015, the Baltimore-based band Tendrills released a psych rock album called ''10,191''. The album's title, sound, emotionality, and some of its lyrics were inspired by the Dune novels.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tendrills.bandcamp.com/album/10191 |title=10,191 by Tendrills |author=Tendrills |year=2015 |access-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220174729/https://tendrills.bandcamp.com/album/10191 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Japanese singer [[Kenshi Yonezu]], released a song titled "Dune", also known as "Sand Planet". The song was released on 2017, and it was created using the voice synthesizer [[Hatsune Miku]] for her 10th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vgperson.com/vocalinterview.php?view=hachicut2|title=Kenshi Yonezu/Hachi - Sand Planet|work=CUT Magazine|date=September 22, 2017|access-date=September 26, 2022|archive-date=September 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902185207/https://vgperson.com/vocalinterview.php?view=hachicut2|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Sleep (band)|Sleep]]'s 2018 album ''[[The Sciences (album)|The Sciences]]'' features a song, Giza Butler, that references several aspects of ''Dune''.<ref name=sciencesLN>{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Sciences |type=vinyl liner notes |author=Sleep |year=2018 |publisher=[[Third Man Records]] |id=TMR 547}}</ref>
* [[Tool (band)|Tool]]'s 2019 album ''[[Fear Inoculum]]'' has a song entitled "Litanie contre la peur (Litany against fear)".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-tool-return-from-a-long-hiatus-with-fear-inoculum-879842/|title=Tool Return From a Long Hiatus With ''Fear Inoculum''|last=Hermes|first=Will|date=September 4, 2019|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=January 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109151406/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-tool-return-from-a-long-hiatus-with-fear-inoculum-879842/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* "Rare to Wake", from [[Shannon Lay]]'s album ''Geist'' (2019), is inspired by ''Dune''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2021/10/shannon-lay-geist-interview/|title=Shannon Lay Is Doing This for Herself|date=October 7, 2021|access-date=October 8, 2021|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|first=Grant|last=Sharples|archive-date=October 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007171202/https://www.spin.com/2021/10/shannon-lay-geist-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]] band [[Diamond Head (English band)|Diamond Head]] based the song "The Sleeper" and its prelude, both off the album The Coffin Train, on the series.

===Games===
{{Further|List of games based on Dune}}
There have been a number of [[List of games based on Dune|games based on the book]], starting with the [[Strategy video game|strategy]]{{ndash}}[[adventure game]] ''[[Dune (video game)|Dune]]'' (1992). The most important game adaptation is ''[[Dune II]]'' (1992), which established the conventions of modern [[real-time strategy]] games and is considered to be among the most influential [[video games]] of all time.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Loguidice|first1=Bill|last2=Barton|first2=Matt|chapter=Spicing Up Strategy in Real Time|title=Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time|date=2012|publisher=[[CRC Press]]|isbn=978-1-136-13758-7|pages=65–76|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKF5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|access-date=April 14, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011125/https://books.google.com/books?id=mKF5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

The online game ''[[Lost Souls (MUD)|Lost Souls]]'' includes ''Dune''-derived elements, including sandworms and melange—addiction to which can produce psychic talents.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Shah|first1=Rawn|last2=Romine|first2=James|year=1995|title=Playing MUDs on the Internet|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|isbn=978-0-471-11633-2|page=213}}</ref> The 2016 game ''[[Enter the Gungeon]]'' features the spice melange as a random item which gives the player progressively stronger abilities and penalties with repeated uses, mirroring the long-term effects melange has on users.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/enter-gungeon-best-active-items/|title=''Enter The Gungeon'': 10 Best Active Items That You Need To Find|first=Matthew|last=D'Onofrio|date=March 23, 2021|website=Game Rant|access-date=June 14, 2022|archive-date=June 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614184334/https://gamerant.com/enter-gungeon-best-active-items/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Rick Priestley]] cites ''Dune'' as a major influence on his 1987 [[wargame]], ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Duffy |first=Owen |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Blood, dice and darkness: how Warhammer defined gaming for a generation |url=http://cardboardsandwich.com/features/blood-dice-and-darkness-how-warhammer-defined-gaming-for-a-generation/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518214819/http://cardboardsandwich.com/features/blood-dice-and-darkness-how-warhammer-defined-gaming-for-a-generation/ |archive-date=May 18, 2016}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Funcom]] announced ''[[Dune: Awakening]]'', an upcoming [[massively multiplayer online game]] set in the universe of ''Dune''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://duneawakening.com/|title=Dune Awakening|website=Dune Awakening|access-date=September 27, 2023|archive-date=September 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927035638/https://duneawakening.com/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Jake |date=August 3, 2023 |title=Dune Awakening - everything we know so far |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/dune-awakening-release-date-gameplay-trailers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928175431/https://www.techradar.com/news/dune-awakening-release-date-gameplay-trailers |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |access-date=September 28, 2023 |website=TechRadar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mercante |first1=Alyssa |date=October 7, 2022 |others=Contributed Jasmine Gould-Wilson, Heather Wald, Emma-Jane Betts, Josh West |title=Dune Awakening: Everything we know so far about the open-world Dune MMO |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/dune-awakening-guide/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928175431/https://www.gamesradar.com/dune-awakening-guide/ |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |access-date=September 28, 2023 |website=gamesradar.com}}</ref>

===Space exploration===
The [[Apollo 15]] astronauts named a [[Dune (crater)|small crater]] on Earth's [[Moon]] after the novel during the 1971 mission,<ref>{{cite book|title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamerofdunebio00herb|url-access=registration|first=Brian|last=Herbert|date=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamerofdunebio00herb/page/244 244]|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-7653-0646-3}}</ref> and the name was formally adopted by the [[International Astronomical Union]] in 1973.<ref name="Moon Dune">{{cite web|url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1662|title=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Dune on Moon|publisher=Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov|access-date=October 16, 2016|archive-date=December 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211135354/https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1662|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2009, the names of planets from the ''Dune'' novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on [[Saturn]]'s moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], like [[Arrakis Planitia]].<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |url=https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?/archives/369-New-Name,-Descriptor-Term,-and-Theme-Approved-for-Use-on-Titan.html |title=USGS Astrogeology Hot Topics: New Name, Descriptor Term, and Theme Approved for Use on Titan |first=Jennifer |last=Blue |publisher=Astrogeology.usgs.gov |date=August 4, 2009 |access-date=September 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101075856/http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?%2Farchives%2F369-New-Name%2C-Descriptor-Term%2C-and-Theme-Approved-for-Use-on-Titan.html |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Titan Planitiae">{{cite web |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Planitia,%20planitiae |title=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Titan Planitiae |publisher=Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov |access-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016163143/http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Planitia,%20planitiae |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Titan Labyrinthi">{{cite web |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Labyrinthus,%20labyrinthi |title=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Titan Labyrinthi |publisher=Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov |access-date=January 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016163143/http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=TITAN&featureType=Labyrinthus,%20labyrinthi |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
* {{annotated link|Soft science fiction}}
* {{annotated link|Hydraulic empire}}
* {{annotated link|Genetics in fiction}}
* {{annotated link|Space travel in science fiction}}
* {{annotated link|Religious order}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="Bbc2019-11-05">{{cite news |date=November 5, 2019 |title=100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108030557/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50302788 |archive-date=November 8, 2019 |access-date=November 10, 2019 |work=[[BBC News]] |quote=The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Britt |first=Ryan |title=The Spice Must Flow |publisher=Penguin Random House LLC |year=2023 |isbn=9780593472996}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |author-link1=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=1386 |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-312-13486-0}}
* {{cite AV media |last=Clute |first=John |author-link=John Clute |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Nicholls (writer) |title=The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |location=Danbury, CT |publisher=Grolier |medium=[[CD-ROM]] |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7172-3999-3}}
* Decker, Kevin S., ed. ''Dune and Philosophy: Minds, Monads, and Muad'Dib''. Hoboken, NJ/Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2023.
* {{cite book |last=Huddleston |first=Tom |title=The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures That Inspired Frank Herbert |location=Minneapolis, MN |publisher=Quarto Publishing Group UK |year=2023}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jakubowski |first1=Maxim |author-link1=Maxim Jakubowski |last2=Edwards |first2=Malcolm |title=[[The Complete Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy Lists]] |location=St Albans, Herts., UK |publisher=Granada Publishing Ltd. |page=350 |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-586-05678-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Frank Herbert's ''Dune'': A Critical Companion |location=Cham, Switzerland |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year= 2022}}
* {{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Kara |title=Women's Agency in the Dune Universe: Tracing Women's Liberation through Science Fiction |location=Cham, Switzerland |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2020}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Nardi |editor1-first=Dominic J. |editor2-first=N. Trevor |editor2-last=Brierly |title=Discovering Dune: Essays on Frank Herbert's Epic Saga |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland & Co. |year=2022}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Nicholas |editor-first=Jeffery |title=Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of Mentat |location=Chicago |publisher=Open Court |year=2011}}
* {{cite book |last=Nicholls |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Nicholls (writer) |title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |publisher=Granada Publishing Ltd. |page=672 |year=1979 |location=St Albans, Herts., UK |isbn=978-0-586-05380-5}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Reilly |first=Timothy |title=Frank Herbert |location=New York |publisher=Frederick Ungar |year=1981}}
* {{cite book| last=Pringle | first=David | author-link=David Pringle | title=The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction |location=London | publisher=Grafton Books Ltd. | page=407 | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-246-13635-0}}
* {{cite book| last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | author-link=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=Advent | page=136 | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-911682-20-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Williams |first=Kevin C. |title=The Wisdom of the Sand: Philosophy and Frank Herbert's Dune |location=New York |publisher=Hampton Press |year=2013}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Dune}}
* [http://www.dunenovels.com/ Official website for ''Dune'' and its sequels]
* {{ISFDB title|2036}}
* {{cite interview|url=http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm |title=Vertex Interviews Frank Herbert |first=Paul |last=Turner |date=October 1973 |volume=1 |issue=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519171219/http://members.lycos.co.uk/Fenrir/ctdinterviews.htm |archive-date=May 19, 2009 }}
* [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dune/context.html Spark Notes: ''Dune''], detailed study guide
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161021062751/http://www.dunequotes.com/ DuneQuotes.com – Collection of quotes from the ''Dune'' series]
* [http://www.conceptualfiction.com/dune.html ''Dune'' by Frank Herbert], reviewed by Ted Gioia ([http://www.conceptualfiction.com/ Conceptual Fiction])
* {{cite web|url=http://www.litweb.net/biography/242/Frank_Herbert.html|title=Frank Herbert Biography and Bibliography at LitWeb.net|publisher=litweb.net|access-date=January 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402035216/http://www.litweb.net/biography/242/Frank_Herbert.html|archive-date=April 2, 2009}}
* {{cite web |first=Scott |last=Timberg |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-dune18-2010apr18,0,4546281,full.story |title=Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' holds timely – and timeless – appeal |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 18, 2010 |access-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203033431/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-dune18-2010apr18,0,4546281,full.story |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |last=Walton |first=Jo |author-link=Jo Walton |url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/01/in-league-with-the-future-frank-herberts-dune |title=In league with the future: Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' (Review) |website=Tor.com |date=January 12, 2011 |access-date=November 27, 2013}}
* {{cite web |url=https://nautil.us/issue/25/water/to-save-california-read-dune |title=To Save California, Read ''Dune'' |work=Nautilus |first=Andrew |last=Leonard |date=June 4, 2015 |access-date=June 15, 2015 |archive-date=November 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104014105/http://nautil.us/issue/25/Water/to-save-california-read-dune |url-status=dead }}
*[https://factbehindfiction.com/dune Dune by Frank Herbert] – Foreshadowing & Dedication at Fact Behind Fiction
*[https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/index.csp Frank Herbert] by Tim O'Reilly
*[https://dunescholar.com DuneScholar.com] – Collection of scholarly essays

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