First Look at Timothée Chalamet in Blockbuster Sci-Fi Epic ‘Dune’

The first official look at Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming film version of Frank Herbert‘s 1965 science fiction epic Dune has been revealed. The photo depicts the Call Me By Your Name star as the protagonist Paul Atreides. He is seen walking on his native planet of Caladan while spaceships begin transporting his family to their new home, Arrakis.

The adaption is directed by Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Despite the coronavirus outbreak, Dune still is set to open on December 18. Villeneuve stated in an interview with Vanity Fair that “Dune was made by people from all over the world. Many of these people are like family to me, and they’re very much in my thoughts. I’m so proud to showcase their hard work. I look forward to a time when we can all get together again as Dune was made to be seen on the big screen.”

The sci-fi book has such an enormous impact that it continues to echo in other sci-fi and fantasy storytelling half a century later. The epic centers around a young royal Paul Atreides, who prepares to leave the comfortable life he knows for a desolate, dangerous mining planet known as Arrakis, where his wealthy family will oversee extraction of a spice vital to the galaxy. As the owners of Arrakis, the Atreides soon find themselves amidst chaos and death as they become the enemy of rival royal families and the planet’s indiginious population, a group of natives known as the Fremen.

Chalamet has expressed excitement about signing on to Dune as the lead role, stating that “the immediately appealing thing about Paul was the fact that in a story of such detail and scale and world-building, the protagonist is on an anti-hero’s-journey of sorts. He thinks he’s going to be sort of a young general studying his father and his leadership of a fighting force before he comes of age, hopefully a decade later, or something like that.”

Chalamet has garnered widespread recognition from his roles in indie films and Dune marks his first time leading a large, blockbuster feature. Alongside Chalamet is an impressive ensemble cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard, and Dave Bautista.