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We're already in Star Wars territory here. Those discussions were fans pit their imaginary theories about an imaginary story against each other.

Oh, is somebody afraid to battle in the sacred arena of internet nerdom ?

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But sure, I'll play:

Oh.

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20,000 years isn't near long enough for speciation, but it's plenty long enough for phenotypic variation and drift.

Canonically speaking, the Fremen have been present on Arrakis long enough for selective pressure to manifest: the sequence where the Shadout Mapes allows herself to be cut by the Crysknife highlights the uniquely rapid speed of clotting/coagulation, a physiological adaptation to retain moisture, and they don't seem to involuntarily cry from emotion either, as evidenced by their shock at Paul's tears.



There are plenty of brown peoples throughout the world whose skin grows *quite* leathery with a lifetime of exposure to the elements, never mind the fictional Arrakeen sun and aridity.
Sure, no argument there. I'm just going by the assumption that they spend most of their time underground, and thus paler complexions, which would allow for them to absorb more sunlight, would be evolutionary favoured.

In the descriptions they are described as sinewy, weedy, thin, calorically restricted but they're not 'malnourished' given their formidable fighting abilities.
My bad there. It's been a long while since I listened to the audiobook (I'm just now getting off my arse to buy physical copies).

Sure, lots of variation in the Arab world. Many are olive skinned to begin with. The genetics in that part of the world are all over the place.
Which is precisely my point. You could've had a phenotypically diverse cast that's still close to the canon, and not gone with "eh, whatever, she's kinda dark, they're kinda brown, **** it". It'd have been a good chance to stop talking about "muh representation/diversity" and just done it, without going with the typical choice.

Any depiction of human phenotypes in 20,000 years being purely speculative, the director has a lot of latitude. Like or her not, Zendaya is popular in the industry right now and at any rate I think she looks the part of a lean, fighting Fremen, because my personal opinion is not locked on specifically Arabic-descended Fremen that look identical to the contemporary Middle Eastern phenotypes.
Zendaya is pushed, but I wouldn't say that she's popular in the sense that a "star" is. MCU "A-Listers" struggle to find an audience outside of those movies, so I doubt she does. And heck, in the end, I'd prefer to look at, and have Paul hook up with, a ginger than just Zendaya again. It's funny that in trying to be diverse, one of the rarest natural phenotypes in the world rarely shows up anymore. And I think that Hollywood could find some unknown red-haired girl from a MENA country. It's not like Zendaya is Daniel Day Lewis, acting wise.

It's not an 'argument'. This is an adaptation and as such certain elements have a plasticity to them that allows contemporary people to relate to them.-- my personal opinion is that many great stories that persist through time and culture have these flexible elements within them.
I'd say that it is generally in argument since "it's da futah" is a legit way to explain away things and set up your story. That 'Man After Man' book uses it to its fullest.

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I get why people use it, is my point. I just don't think it can be used everywhere. It's valid in an original story, but when you adapt things, IMHO, you should stick as close to the source as you can. If you want to say "dude, it's da futah, that's why after some kinda gene-splicing, we now have furries", you can. More or less it's what Elephantmen is.

Elephantmen-1.jpg


I already know your opinion and won't try to change your mind. I would have no problem with your casting of Dune with Space Greeks and Space Arabs. None. But I'm not bothered by Villeneuve's multi-ethnic casting because in this particular case, I feel it's a non-issue.
Personally I mind because Dune belongs in the Space Opera subgenre, and it's a story about Houses and specific peoples. To me, to represent such clashes you need defined ethnicties and not multiracial populations, so as to be able to sell the differences better. "House X is Y", "People Z are U" and so on and so forth. It's that kind of story where you need clearly defined borders/lines/definitions/characterizations/etc. It's how Star Wars and Valerian did it, and it works for those stories.

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It doesn't bother me that something like "The Expanse" has multicultural people everywhere, and you've got phenotypes where you can't even tell what they are, because that's the angle they were going for. That's the series' identity/look, even in the books. So that's fine by me. But Dune is different, and I want a different approach.

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Just my 0.02 $.

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Any one think Hot Toys will pick up the license for this? They have a relationship with Warner Brothers, but I don't think Dune has a large fan base in Asia.
 
Is that fan art? The character design is much better than the movie. Is there a photo of the main character by the same artist?
Yeah, it's random fanart I found on the net. He hasn't done Paul, but here's Lady Jessica:
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And Duke Leto:
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It's embarassing that random people are better at creating unique identities, than multimedia conglomerates who produce multi-million dollar films...

Any one think Hot Toys will pick up the license for this? They have a relationship with Warner Brothers, but I don't think Dune has a large fan base in Asia.

Maybe they could put out a Paul, but I think it's doubtful. Rumor has it that WB intends to turn Dune into a multimedia franchise though, so who knows.
 
Any one think Hot Toys will pick up the license for this? They have a relationship with Warner Brothers, but I don't think Dune has a large fan base in Asia.

Nah...I don't think they will unless the movie proves to be unexpectedly uber-popular.

Hot Toys is shying away from the old school "general/cult" sci-fi they used to do (Alien, Predator, Robocop, Terminator, etc.) and more focused on the mega-franchise/superhero stuff.
 
Oh, is somebody afraid to battle in the sacred arena of internet nerdom ?

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Oh.

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Sure, no argument there. I'm just going by the assumption that they spend most of their time underground, and thus paler complexions, which would allow for them to absorb more sunlight, would be evolutionary favoured.

I would agree, but the fact remains that Herbert described them as dark skinned. Also leathery tanned and sinewy. I'm sure they'll take liberties with the "desiccated" look of the desert Fremen, but using generally dark(er) skinned people seems right.


My bad there. It's been a long while since I listened to the audiobook (I'm just now getting off my arse to buy physical copies).


Which is precisely my point. You could've had a phenotypically diverse cast that's still close to the canon, and not gone with "eh, whatever, she's kinda dark, they're kinda brown, **** it". It'd have been a good chance to stop talking about "muh representation/diversity" and just done it, without going with the typical choice.

Again, the woman is described as being small, very skinny, elfin faced, dark skinned and with red hair. Now, except for the red hair, Zendaya works perfectly... There is no specific earthbound ethnicity given to Fremen in the books (although Herbert reportedly based them on Bedu and San People), so from simple looks, Zendaya fits the bill, right?


Zendaya is pushed, but I wouldn't say that she's popular in the sense that a "star" is. MCU "A-Listers" struggle to find an audience outside of those movies, so I doubt she does. And heck, in the end, I'd prefer to look at, and have Paul hook up with, a ginger than just Zendaya again. It's funny that in trying to be diverse, one of the rarest natural phenotypes in the world rarely shows up anymore. And I think that Hollywood could find some unknown red-haired girl from a MENA country. It's not like Zendaya is Daniel Day Lewis, acting wise.

Still, she is a known name, in a movie filled with known names... It doesn't hurt to put a teen star in your film if you want to pull in young demographics, does it? Chalamet and Zendaya are (irrespective of their talent or lack thereof) good to draw teens and younger folk to the theatre.


I'd say that it is generally in argument since "it's da futah" is a legit way to explain away things and set up your story. That 'Man After Man' book uses it to its fullest.

5223078136_72d646a1b9_b.jpg


I get why people use it, is my point. I just don't think it can be used everywhere. It's valid in an original story, but when you adapt things, IMHO, you should stick as close to the source as you can. If you want to say "dude, it's da futah, that's why after some kinda gene-splicing, we now have furries", you can. More or less it's what Elephantmen is.

Elephantmen-1.jpg

Well, again, the source says they are dark skinned, sinewy, strong people... As far as I remember, the only red hair mentioned is Chani's. Too bad they didn't dye Zendaya's hair, but it's a bit of minor point, isn't it? Bardem's casting as Stilgar would probably be more of an eyebrow raiser, but then again, there's enough fair-skinned Bedu for Bardem to work.


Personally I mind because Dune belongs in the Space Opera subgenre, and it's a story about Houses and specific peoples. To me, to represent such clashes you need defined ethnicties and not multiracial populations, so as to be able to sell the differences better. "House X is Y", "People Z are U" and so on and so forth. It's that kind of story where you need clearly defined borders/lines/definitions/characterizations/etc. It's how Star Wars and Valerian did it, and it works for those stories.

I'm not sure I agree with this... In Star Wars everybody's white. Except for the aliens, but then again Chewie is kinda on the light side of fur...
Or take the Lynch Dune adaptation, everybody's white and (despite the mess the movie is), you can tell who the bad guys and who the good guys are.

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It doesn't bother me that something like "The Expanse" has multicultural people everywhere, and you've got phenotypes where you can't even tell what they are, because that's the angle they were going for. That's the series' identity/look, even in the books. So that's fine by me. But Dune is different, and I want a different approach.

I think that's the issue... you want it to be a certain way, but, honestly, I don't think you're bringing up solid arguments.

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Just my 0.02 $.

Sexy, but those big ****s don't really work for me with the whole idea of "sinewy" and "desiccated". And where's the dark/tanned skin? Other than the blue in blue eyes (and not even those are quite right) and the red hair, I don't see how that represents Chani.

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I would agree, but the fact remains that Herbert described them as dark skinned. Also leathery tanned and sinewy. I'm sure they'll take liberties with the "desiccated" look of the desert Fremen, but using generally dark(er) skinned people seems right.
And my point is that Arabs tick off all those boxes. You can do and not just cast generic "darker skinned people". The only official art of Fremen is this:

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All we see is the head, which is exposed to the sun. Said face is bronze, brownish. And again, we know that the Fremen live underground, and migrated there. I see no reason why they would wholly dark-skinned.

Again, the woman is described as being small, very skinny, elfin faced, dark skinned and with red hair. Now, except for the red hair, Zendaya works perfectly... There is no specific earthbound ethnicity given to Fremen in the books (although Herbert reportedly based them on Bedu and San People), so from simple looks, Zendaya fits the bill, right?
Well, you think she works perfectly. I don't, because her features are not what I envisioned.

Still, she is a known name, in a movie filled with known names... It doesn't hurt to put a teen star in your film if you want to pull in young demographics, does it? Chalamet and Zendaya are (irrespective of their talent or lack thereof) good to draw teens and younger folk to the theatre.
I wouldn't call her a known name. She's just being pushed. Brad Pitt is a Superstar, Clive Owen is a known name, Chalamet is an up and coming name, Zendaya is just there.

Well, again, the source says they are dark skinned, sinewy, strong people... As far as I remember, the only red hair mentioned is Chani's. Too bad they didn't dye Zendaya's hair, but it's a bit of minor point, isn't it? Bardem's casting as Stilgar would probably be more of an eyebrow raiser, but then again, there's enough fair-skinned Bedu for Bardem to work.
Banderas' played an Arab before, in the 13th Warrior. Both Europeans and MENAs are Caucasoid so, IMO, it works more than a mixed black American girl.

I'm not sure I agree with this... In Star Wars everybody's white. Except for the aliens, but then again Chewie is kinda on the light side of fur...
Lando isn't white, neither is Mace Windu. And I was mostly talking about the Aliens. They all have a specific traits and looks, and that's what I want from my Space Operas. That extends to Houses and Races/Species/Everything. Even to something like "The Witcher". I cannot take a Medieval Polish setting seriously (yeah I know, the writer's a greedy guy who's backtracked on everything, but let's not pretend he wasn't trying to do for Polish folklore what Tolkien did for British), when somehow Asians and blacks are all over the place, and everyone's somehow perfectly okay with them, but as soon as a guy with white hair and bright eyes walks in, they start behvaing like Sublime has infected them. Sometimes you need uniformality.

Or take the Lynch Dune adaptation, everybody's white and (despite the mess the movie is), you can tell who the bad guys and who the good guys are.
You can tell who the bad guys are in Lynch's adaptation since they're ugly, slimy and degenerate. Skin colour plays no role, as the Harkonnens are white yet still are scum.

I think that's the issue... you want it to be a certain way, but, honestly, I don't think you're bringing up solid arguments.
Sure I want it to be a certain way. Why would I even argue if I didn't want something else than what I'm getting? In general, I don't think all genres, subgenres and whatever else, can have the same kind of casting. There are limitations and guidelines in order to differentiate them. And I think my arguments are pretty solid. The source material talks about "dark skinned" people, who wear special suits and live underground, while being migrants to the land, and later they're retconned as Space Sunni. You have the chance to go with MENAs, have some actual diversity, and are instead just going with the same old American blacks/mixed. It's a boring choice; wholy unironinal. And it doesn't IMO work at all.

Here's fanart of Chani with a tanned, brown skin, red hair and everything:

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Sexy, but those big ****s don't really work for me with the whole idea of "sinewy" and "desiccated". And where's the dark/tanned skin? Other than the blue in blue eyes (and not even those are quite right) and the red hair, I don't see how that represents Chani.
Thos are aren't really big breasts. And that is tanned skin. That's what tanned skin looks like.
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And if we want to talk about a darker, natural skintone, here's Rami Malek:
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Here he's got a tan going on, which is what I envisioned the Fremen to be:
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Here's Sofia Boutela:
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Here are the two leads from an Iranian film, "The Seperation":
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And here's a still from "Lawrence Of Arabia", with regular Arabs:
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All of them are darker skinned. Some have a tan, others are straight-up dark. Hell, Peter O'Toole's got the same skintone as some of them. They're darker than a mixed American black. But the difference is there; they aren't black. As far tans go, they are more of a bronze, yellow-ish colour. Which is my point. Zendaya's just a mixed black girl. Her skin's that mixed "mocha". It doesn't come off as tanned, because it's not. And her features are a mix of White & African, not Arabic.

Either way, I don't see the point in going over circles. I don't like the casting and I've explained my reasons. Hollywood talks about diversity all the time, and all it does is hand out white and even non-white roles to the same old American mixed and not blacks. All gingers go to them, for some reason. They're free to do what they want, they're their movies, games, whatever, but I don't have to like it.
 
Agreed, no point going in circles :duff

As a matter of fact, I'm more intrigued/worried about Liet Kynes.
It doesn't seem to make much sense to change the gender. The Fremen society is patriarchal with holy women on the sides. Very "macho" type of culture with disputes being resolved through fights and all that. In general, the whole Empire is a patriarchal entity, all the heads of the Houses are male, as well (IIRC) as the Guild and Guild Navigators. And that is what makes the role of the Bene Gesserit so wonderfully subversive: they are the ones pulling the strings behind everything. While men are busy with their petty fighting and scheming, the women are the ones with the Big Plan leading humanity.
That Liet Kynes is another man who thinks he's in control, only to have Lady Jessica come in and "Protective Missionaria" all over his face is what makes her character so great. Making Kynes a woman could potentially diminish the significance of just how subversive the Bene Gesserit are in such a male "dominated" society.
And the fact that it's Paul -a male- who actually delivers the Bene Gesserit prophecy (albeit not in the way they envisioned) only reinforces the idea of balance: without the Bene Gesserit training Paul would never have become the Kwisazt Haderach.

Also, where the hell is the Shadout Mapes? I can understand if they're keeping Feyd Rautha for the second movie, but Mapes is instrumental at the Atreides' arrival in Arrakis.
 
Agreed, no point going in circles :duff
It's just that with something like books, which has no accompanying illustrations, everyone comes up with their own images and someone's bound to be dissapointed. It is what it is though, no use in crying over spilt milk.

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And I get how folks could see no real problem with Chani's casting, but I can't warm up to it. It's just that between the uninspired costumes and looks, nothing thus far fills me with that much confidence about it.

As a matter of fact, I'm more intrigued/worried about Liet Kynes.
It doesn't seem to make much sense to change the gender. The Fremen society is patriarchal with holy women on the sides. Very "macho" type of culture with disputes being resolved through fights and all that. In general, the whole Empire is a patriarchal entity, all the heads of the Houses are male, as well (IIRC) as the Guild and Guild Navigators. And that is what makes the role of the Bene Gesserit so wonderfully subversive: they are the ones pulling the strings behind everything. While men are busy with their petty fighting and scheming, the women are the ones with the Big Plan leading humanity.
That Liet Kynes is another man who thinks he's in control, only to have Lady Jessica come in and "Protective Missionaria" all over his face is what makes her character so great. Making Kynes a woman could potentially diminish the significance of just how subversive the Bene Gesserit are in such a male "dominated" society.
And the fact that it's Paul -a male- who actually delivers the Bene Gesserit prophecy (albeit not in the way they envisioned) only reinforces the idea of balance: without the Bene Gesserit training Paul would never have become the Kwisazt Haderach.
Eh, it's just more [current year] stuff. They don't actually care about storytelling. She'll just be there to be another "stronk womyn" for no reason. Did they even touch on 'her' not actually being wholly Fremen, or will that be glossed over ? Probably, as I can't see them delving into all that. Still, there's no nuance to be had these days. Group A must be always "bad", Group B must always be "good" and so on and so forth. The above comments about "strong women" in that press release or whatever it was, reinforce that. Dune was already filled with complex individuals from both sexes; there was no need for touching it up.

Also, where the hell is the Shadout Mapes? I can understand if they're keeping Feyd Rautha for the second movie, but Mapes is instrumental at the Atreides' arrival in Arrakis.
I imagine they'll give Mapes' role to Fem!Kynes. As for the Harkonnens, bar Skarskgard, there's no other official casting for them that I'm aware of. Heck, do we even know if Irulan's gonna show up ? Or the Emperor ?

Personally, I wonder who they're gonna cast for Leto II(I) & his sister (can't remember the name). Assuming they get that far.
 
So I was watching a video of Grace talking about the new photos, and she mentioned that the main character, Paul, has powers? What kind of powers does he have in the books or in the original film?
 
So I was watching a video of Grace talking about the new photos, and she mentioned that the main character, Paul, has powers? What kind of powers does he have in the books or in the original film?

Didn't you read the Vanity Fair article?

"He has a supernatural gift to harness and unleash energy, lead others, and meld with the heart of his new home world. Think Greta Thunberg, only she's a Jedi with a diploma from Hogwarts."
 
So I was watching a video of Grace talking about the new photos, and she mentioned that the main character, Paul, has powers? What kind of powers does he have in the books or in the original film?

I haven?t read the books in a while, but he?s trained in the Bene Gesserit ways, so he can ?control? people with his voice, he?s also got some special fighting techniques, but more importantly, he can look into the future.


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Didn't you read the Vanity Fair article?

"He has a supernatural gift to harness and unleash energy, lead others, and meld with the heart of his new home world. Think Greta Thunberg, only she's a Jedi with a diploma from Hogwarts."

Oh...so he's the Neo of this franchise. Hmm, it'll be interesting how Denis Villeneuve shows those abilities. I'm interested to see what he can do.

I haven?t read the books in a while, but he?s trained in the Bene Gesserit ways, so he can ?control? people with his voice, he?s also got some special fighting techniques, but more importantly, he can look into the future.


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Thanks. It sounds interesting.
 
He's got visions of "the fuuuuuutaaaaahhhh" which are so powerful he turns into Daredevil and produces 3D maps and whatever in his mind. At least as far as I can remember. His son Leto II(I), the Worm-Man, and the inspiration for God Emperors all over, is practically a living computer, so... an average comic book genius. He can control his visions even more and see things far out, maaaaaaaaaaan. But some things exist outside those visions. Don't ask me, I don't remember more and I still have to properly read them. Here's your God Emperor:

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You think they're gonna go there in the movies ?
 
He's got visions of "the fuuuuuutaaaaahhhh" which are so powerful he turns into Daredevil and produces 3D maps and whatever in his mind. At least as far as I can remember. His son Leto II(I), the Worm-Man, and the inspiration for God Emperors all over, is practically a living computer, so... an average comic book genius. He can control his visions even more and see things far out, maaaaaaaaaaan. But some things exist outside those visions. Don't ask me, I don't remember more and I still have to properly read them. Here's your God Emperor:

latest


You think they're gonna go there in the movies ?

I'm not sure where... there, is, to be honest. Those mental abilities don't sound very cinematic. People concentrating and having weird visions and things can really slow down a film.
 
Been seeing this damn **** everywhere. Thought it was a YA novel that was new but it?s an old series. Saw zendaya is in it and everything.
 
I'm not sure where... there, is, to be honest. Those mental abilities don't sound very cinematic. People concentrating and having weird visions and things can really slow down a film.
I suppose they'll make them more cinematic. Paul and the like will have super-awesome battle-skills, and the visions will be just plot devices. It's not about the super-powers, really. More like "hurdur, you were playing 4D Chess, but I was 64D'ing" or something like that.

Been seeing this damn **** everywhere. Thought it was a YA novel that was new but it?s an old series. Saw zendaya is in it and everything.
It's the basis for most major Sci-Fi franchises, from Star Wras to Warhammer 40K.
 
The interesting bit is that the ability to see the future becomes a bit of a curse, because (IIRC) Paul understands that he becomes trapped into what he must do to save the human race. And, he actually refuses to do so, so in the end, it's his son who shoulders the burden and makes the required sacrifices in order to lead humanity along the "Golden Path". It's all very mystical and complicated. Right down Villeneuve's alley.
There's a lot of commentary on politics, religion and gender dynamics, as well as ecology and history in those books.
 
I never reached that far. I figured that I wasn't getting the full experience out of the audiobooks, so I put it off until I bought the physical copies. Which I still haven't done, since they're about 19 books. And I hear the quality decreases, but some folks say that the Prequels actually explain a whole lot of stuff and are rather underrated. Sure, I could read the main 8 or so books and stop, but I need to finish what I start, so... It's the same problem I have with the "Book Of The New Sun" books as well, where it's about 15 books and I haven't picked them up yet. So many things, so little time for everything.
 
I tried reading the prequels, but the quality just wasn?t there. Apparently the sequels aren?t that great either.

I?d recommend sticking to the original 6:
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune


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