Dive into this epic interstellar world with us through our Retrospective of Dune. This science fiction franchise features the character, Paul Atreides, as he fights for the planet Arrakis to help the future of his family and friends. The story began in 1965 with a novel by Frank Herbert. The planet Arrakis contains the only source of melange, the drug that extends life and enhances the abilities of the mind. Taking place tens of thousands of years after humans left the earth, this franchise sparked popularity among fans all over the world.
After the novel, many other parts of the franchise released. These include other novels, toys, movies, comic books, video games, television series, and graphic novels. The story of Dune holds a legacy of over 50 years. The popular franchise only continues to grow as new games, books, toys, and movies come out. Follow along with us in our blog to go through the years and all of the exciting parts of the franchise.
Join us in a Retrospective of Dune
Follow along with us as we go through all different parts of the franchise. We will dive into all of the books, games, films, and toys released from 1965 to present day. We will also mention the exciting future ahead for Dune.
Dune Novels
The novels take the first spot on our Retrospective of Dune. The first book, Dune, hit incredible popularity as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel and one of the best books of all time. After the first book’s release, author Frank Herbert wrote five other sequels before his death in 1986. Then, over a decade after Herbert’s death, his son teamed up with Kevin J. Anderson to coauthor not just one but three Dune prequels. This trilogy became known as the Prelude to Dune series and not only allowed fans to see more of the franchise but also gave them a look into what happened before the original story took place.
The first book by Frank Herbert, Dune, came out in 1965. Following this one include: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune all written by Frank Herbert. Then, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson wrote not only the prequel trilogy but also many other books for the franchise together. The first of these include: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, as well as House Corrino. The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, The Battle of Corrin, Hunters of Dune, Sandworms of Dune, Paul of Dune, The Winds of Dune, and Sisterhood of Dune also came out from the coauthors. Along with these, Mentats of Dune, Navigators of Dune, The Duke of Caladan, The Lady of Caladan, The Heir of Caladan, Princess of Dune, and Sands of Dune all also came out as novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Dune Toys
Next up on our Retrospective of Dune, we have the toys. The first Dune toys released in 1984 by LJN featured several figures as well as vehicles and weapons correlating to the David Lynch film adaptation. The 1984 Battle-Matic action figure line included the popular characters: Paul Atredies, Lady Jessica, Baron Harkonnen, Rabban, Gurney Halleck, Stilgar, Feyd, and the Sardauker Warrior. Along with these, a latex Stuffed “Sandworm” and Bendable “Sandworm” released. LJN also came out with a Motorized Vehicle Assortment and Electronic Weapons Assortment. The 1984 LJN catalog also featured a Weapons Giftset and Bad Guy Vehicle that unfortunately both got cancelled.
More recently, with the release of new Dune films, both Aug Toys and McFarlane Toys came out with modern Dune action figures. Both action figure lines feature the likeness of the popular characters. However, Aug Toys figures price at over $200 USD while the McFarlane figures price at around $20 USD. McFarlane’s initial line consists of Paul, Lady Jessica, Stilgar, Rabban, and Duncan Idaho. Other than the Baron Harkonnen figure, these figures stand at 7 inches tall and come in box packaging with plastic windows to clearly see each character. Aug Toys also came out with an incredibly detailed line of figures. These include multiple versions of the Paul Atreides character as well as Duke and Gurney. Each of these characters comes with a head sculpt and articulated body as well as multiple interchangeable hands. Character-specific clothing and accessories also appear for each figure with immense thought and detail.
Dune Movies
Three movies came out over the years from 1984 to present day featuring this epic interstellar Sci-Fi story. Continue following along in our Retrospective of Dune with us as we mention the 1984 film, 2021 film, and 2024 film. Along with these, we will mention exciting news of the next Dune film to release.
1984
This 1984 Dune motion picture film followed the events of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel. This film, directed by David Lynch, stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides. Along with these, Sting, Jose Ferrer, Francesca Annis, Sian Phillips, Virginia Madsen, Linda Hunt, Patrick Stewart, Jurgen Prochnow, and Max Von Sydow all starred in Dune. Filmed in Mexico City, this movie followed the story of Paul “Kwisatz Haderach” as he protects the planet from evil. The story begins with the ruler of the known universe, Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. The great Spacing Guild uses the most searched for substance, orange spice melange gas, to travel to any space in the universe.
Four of the planets in the universe, Arrakis, Caladan, Geidi Prime, and Kaitain take position in the Dune story. Arrakis, the desert planet, holds the only source for the precious spice. The Caladan planet hosts House Atreides while Geidi Prime hosts House Harkonnen. Lastly, the Emperor Shaddam IV lives on the planet, Kaitain. The story again picks up when the Emperor plans to destroy House Atreides. Duke Leto Atreides suspects to create an army, making him a great threat to the Emperor. With the new knowledge of the plot taking place, the Navigator commands the Emperor to kill Paul Atreides, the Duke’s son. Because of this, the Atreides leave the planet, Caladan, to go to Arrakis.
As they go through many life-shaping events on the planet, Paul experiences a dream and then drinks the Water of Life which enters him into a coma. This coma disturbs all Bene Gesserits in the universe and Paul gains control of all the sandworms in Arrakis. The film ends with an attack against the Emperor when he arrives on the planet.
2021
Next up, we have the 2021 Dune film. This film released as another adaptation to the first half of Frank Herbert’s original novel. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, this Dune film released later due to the Covid-19 pandemic in October of 2021. Just like the previous Dune movie, this one also features Paul Atreides as he travels to the most treacherous planet in the universe. This film features Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, and Javier Bardem among others.
The beginning of the film features Chani Kynes telling the story of House Harkonnen’s harsh rule on the planet, Arrakis. However, Chani and the Freeman in Arrakis stand stunned when House Harkonnen’s rule ends by Emperor Shaddam IV. The plot continues with the Emperor then offers the ruling of Arrakis to House Atreides, the current ruler of Caladan. House Atreides accepts, however, the Emperor plans to put an end to House Atreides and hand the rule back over to House Harkonnen. With Paul Atreides then desiring to go to Arrakis early, his father denies and Paul is reminded of the danger and brutality of the Harkonnens. After finding out Paul Atreides holds the title of “The One”, House Atreides settle in the capital of Arakkis, Arrakeen.
After some difficulty among the Harkonnen soldiers and the loss of a loved character, Paul Atreides becomes the new duke. Then, near the end of the movie, Paul and Jessica decide to join the Fremen with the aim to bring peace to Arrakis.
2024
Now, on our Retrospective of Dune, we will mention the newest Dune release. This film, Dune: Part Two came out on March 1 of 2024, although it originally set to release in November of 2023. Dune: Part Two follows the events of the latter half of Frank Herbert’s novel. The plot picks up again with Paul and Jessica joining the Fremen. After conquering a Harkonnen ambush, Stilgar convinces Jessica to replace their dying Reverend Mother. In order to do this, Jessica drinks of the “Water of Life” which is poisonous to the untrained and males. Jessica reconstructs this poison and ,therefore, lives and inherits the memories from every one of her female ancestors. Jessica then learns she is pregnant and the “Water of Life” allowed for her daughter’s mind to awaken. This allowed for Jessica to communicate with her daughter, even inside the womb.
Then, Paul makes the statement that he wants to fight alongside the Fremen. He starts learning the Fremen ways, language, and takes tests to help adapt to their lifestyle. Later, as Feyd’s troops attack, the survivors need to move South. This leads Paul to drink the poisonous drowned sandworm liquid, the “Water of Life”. From this, Paul falls into a coma but reawakens when Chani feeds him her own tears. The Southern Fremen leaders request Paul to take over Stilgar’s leadership, however, he refuses. Paul accepts his prophecy and then claims himself to gain full power over the Fremen. This epic Dune: Part Two film concludes with the realization that this is the beginning of the holy war.
Dune: Messiah
Up next on our Retrospective of Dune, we will mention the exciting news of a future film. This next movie, Dune: Messiah, currently holds no set release date. Along with the past two Dune films, Denis Villeneuve also wrote this one giving it an anticipated storyline following that of the book with the same name. As Denis mentioned in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2021, he always envisioned writing and directing at least three Dune movies. Although not many exact details have released for the film yet, we know that the plot picks up after the last movie. Dune: Messiah follows the loved character, Paul Atreides as he now figures out his power as he rules as Emperor Muad’Dib. This film, anticipated by many fans, will definitely hit the charts in popularity among it’s upcoming release.
Dune Comic Books and Graphic Novels
The next important part on our Retrospective of Dune through the franchise are the comic books and graphic novels. Through the past two decades, from 1984 to 2024, many comic books and graphic novels released featuring these powerful characters. Dune: The Official Comic Book came out first in 1984. Published by both Berkley Books and Marvel Comics, this comic released in three volumes and featured the characters from Frank Herbert’s original Dune story in comic format for the first time.
Dune: The Graphic Novel Series came out next, almost twenty years later, in 2020. This series also consisted of three books. Dune: House Atreides released as 12 issues and 3 volumes in 2020. In 2022, two film graphic novels came out along with Dune: Tales From Arrakeen and Dune: The Waters of Kanly. Released in 2023, Dune: House of Harkonnen, featured 12 issues and 3 volumes. Lastly, in 2024, Dune: House Corrino came out with 8 issues.
Dune Video Games
The video games take up the next spot on our Retrospective of Dune. From 1992 to 2024, many different video games released for the franchise over a vast array of platforms and game consoles. The first game, titled Dune 2: The Building of a Dynasty, came out on Amiga and PC. Along with this one, the game titled Dune also came out in 1992 on Sega CD, Amiga, and PC. Dune: The Battle for Arrakis released on Genesis in 1984. Four years later, Dune 2000 came out on PlayStation and PC. Then, two games released in 2001 including Emperor: Battle for Dune for PC and Frank Herbert’s Dune for the PlayStation 2 and PC.
The next game, Dune: Imperium in 2021, released for many different game consoles including the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, iPhone, and PC. Dune: Spice Wars came out in 2022 for the Xbox Series X/S and PC. These games have continued keeping the fanbase up as well as growing it throughout the years. Some other exciting news for the future of Dune includes the game Dune: Awakening. This game, scheduled to release in May of 2025, comes out on the PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
Dune Television Series
The three television series now take the next spot on our Retrospective of Dune. Three series came out for the franchise. These include the 2000 Frank Herbert’s Dune miniseries, 2003 Children of Dune, and 2024 Dune: Prophecy. These television series sparked popularity among many fans through the past couple decades, especially between many fans of the original novels.
Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000)
The first television series, Frank Herbert’s Dune, came out in 2000. This three part miniseries, directed by John Harrison, followed the events of the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. Although it followed the same events, some differences including Paul’s age, personality differences, and style changes took place to elaborate the original story for film purposes. Another big change from the novel to the series includes an extended subplot for Irulan Corrino. This character showed up very little in the novel compared to this miniseries. The creator of the series felt this character needed a bigger role since she plays such an important role in the later novels and gave Paul an entrance in House Corrino.
This miniseries featured William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides and Alec Newman as Paul Atreides. Along with this, Saskia Reeves played Lady Jessica and Barbora Kodetova played Chani. Many other popular and loved actors played roles in this three part miniseries, bringing another adaptation to fans for the franchise.
Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune (2003)
Next up, Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune series acts as a sequel to the previous Frank Herbert Dune series. This series adapted both Dune Messiah and Children of Dune novels into another incredible three part miniseries. Directed by Greg Yaitanes, this miniseries runs for six hours with two hours each episode.
This series picks up where the previous Dune series left off with Paul Atreides leading the Fremen of Arrakis to bring down the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. At this time, the leader of House Corrino, Princess Wensicia plans the fall of Atreides. Through multiple challenges and schemes, Paul’s authority is threatened as he even becomes blind when attacked with a stone burner. Part one ends with the birth of Paul’s children. As Paul departs, he leaves his children in the care of their Aunt Alia. Then, years later, part two picks up with many challenges and battles for the Atreides family. In the middle of an intensifying civil war, Alia deals with both the pressures from the Fremen as well as Baron Harkonnen. The series ends with more challenges and turns taking place, making fans eagerly anticipating the changing of events.
Dune: Prophecy (2024)
Taking the last spot on our Retrospective of Dune, we have the Dune: Prophecy television series. This spin-off series premiered on HBO and Max on November 17, 2024. Produced by Kevin J. Anderson with Legendary Television, this science fiction drama series consists of one season with more episodes continuing to release. This series takes place 10,000 years before the events of Dune. It follows the events of the novel, Sisterhood of Dune. The first season of this epic interstellar includes six episodes airing from November to December 22, 2024. The series features Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen and Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen. Along with this, Jodhi May played Empress Natalya Arat, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina played Princess Ynez Corrino, and Shalom Brune-Franklin played Mikaela. Many other popular actors and actresses also appear in the series.
This series, with it’s initial release had 1.2 million viewers on the premiere day and 2.1 million views the day after. Dune: Prophecy, a top streaming hit, adds another incredible part to the franchise with the twist of events taking place before the original storyline. This series also keeps the franchise going and keeping fans as well as gaining new fans throughout the generations.
Do You Have Old And Used Dune Toys?
if you have a collection of old and used toys, you can turn those toys into cash. There is no reason to let those old toys collect dust. Contact us today to sell your Dune toy collection.
Made in Collaboration with:
Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab Pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!