A brand new image from Denis Villeneuve's upcoming sci-fi epic Dune has been released, providing a fresh look at Timothee Chalamet as protagonist Paul Atreides. This new image comes from the first of two Dune films Villeneuve is making, scheduled to be released just before Christmas.

The film is the second adaptation of Frank Herbert's Hugo award-winning 1965 novel to make it to the big screen, following David Lynch's oft-maligned 1984 version. This time around, visionary director Villeneuve (Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner: 2049) is tackling the task of converting Herbert's sprawling tale. The French-Canadian auteur has assembled a stellar cast for the duo of films. Aside from starring Chalamet as Atreides, it also features Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Lady Jessica, Oscar Isaac as his father Duke Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho and Stellan Skarsgard as the villainous Baron Harkonnen.

The image, released by Empire, shows Chalamet crouching down while looking up, ready for action, and wielding two knives. The action takes place indoors, in what looks like some sort of training room, which would place the scene in the first third of the film. You can see the image below:


This shot of Chalamet is the latest in a series of Dune images to be released, though this is the first to show Chalamet in this setting. With publicity ramping up, a trailer may be on the horizon. The image was released alongside an interview with Villeneuve, who talks about Chalamet's character Atreides, and his arc through the two films. He calls the character a "contradiction," going on to compare him to "Michael Corleone in The Godfather - it's someone that has a very tragic fate and he will become something that he was not wishing to become." The filmmaker adds that his adaptation is "a very beautiful story about someone that becomes empowered."

Villeneuve faces a great deal of pressure to succeed with his vision for the film. He must not only meet the challenge of overcoming negative perceptions of screen adaptations of film thanks to Lynch's flop in 1984, as well as the mediocre series released in the early 2000s. He also needs to put the box office failure of Blade Runner: 2049 behind him and produce a hit. It remains to be seen whether Villeneuve will be able to take his usual cerebral approach to Dune and combine it with enough action and excitement to draw audiences to theaters. However, with rich source material, a fantastic cast, and enough experience helming large Hollywood blockbusters, you wouldn't bet against Villeneuve creating a couple of hit films that appeal to audiences and critics alike.

Dune (2020)
Release Date: Dec 18, 2020