On 9/16/2020 at 9:35 AM, FTS Gecko said:Now... my big question is, is how far can this go as a franchise?
While trying to avoid any potential spoilers here, it looks like the first book is going to be split into two films, with House Atreides time on Arrakis being the first and (probably) ending with the arrival at Sietch Tabr. There's a bit of a time jump there which will allow for a break before the events of the second film.
But what about after that?
Obviously there's a mountain of material still to come after the first book (which has been described by hardcore fans as pretty much just a prelude to the true story), but a lot of the material and themes would seem incredibly difficult to translate onto the big screen. The first book has the mix of world-building, characters and action that can make a blockbuster, but it's still a difficult task. Some of the later stories seem for all intents and purposes unfilmable.
If Dune is a commercial success... just how far can it go?
If the films are well received we'll probably see the studio try to continue on in film with a sequel. Whether or not that project could actually get past the screenwriting phase and actually get made is kinda up in the air, but a sequel would fit more with how Hollywood rolls.
Personally I think Dune would fare better as a serialized drama in the same vein as Game of Thrones. There's a lot of material in each book so spreading that out over a season of hour long episodes sounds better to me than doing a pair of 2 hour movies. That would probably also help make the more heady concepts of Dune a bit more digestible to a general audience since less will be thrown at the audience all at once. Unfortunately though I kinda doubt a movie studio would be interested in starting their franchise in theaters only to later transition to TV. If this is to happen it would likely only occur after the license for Dune gets dropped by the movie studio and picked up by a television network or streaming service.