Video game movies are not often well-received. Movie video games? They’ve often a better chance.
While Bloodrayne, House of the Dead and the bizarre Super Mario Bros. serve as evidence that the video game movie has long been a cursed subgenre, Alien: Isolation and even the underappreciated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the GameBoy Advance have shown that film franchises have often made better video games than vice-versa.
With such the case, it was recently announced that the new Dune movie will be getting its own video game. Several, in fact, according to a report by Polygon.
The games will be created by Conan Exiles developer Funcom, in partnership with the film’s production company, Legendary Entertainment, as well as Herbert Properties. They’ll be based on Frank Herbert’s monumental science-fiction novels, which will receive an onscreen adaptation by Blade Runner 2049 director, Denis Villeneuve next year.
Though how many games likely to release remains undisclosed, a report by Comic Book Movie states that there will be “at least three,” and will be headed to consoles and PC over “the next few years.” Still, the prospect of having an interactive version of Frank Herbert’s influential universe could prove exciting, and potentially not just for fans of the author’s 1965 series.
With Fallout 76 having proven itself to be one of the year’s most lacklustre games so far, the developer could end up satisfying the post-apocalyptic hole Bethesda’s MMO left unfilled.
Indeed, the Fallout series itself has paid homage to the Dune-iverse in its reference to the series’ ‘Mentats’: human computers who enhance their consciousness with the aid of a substance named ‘Sapho Juice’. Similarly, mentats are used in Fallout to raise Perception and Intelligence.
Is it likely we’ll get a Dune game with the RPG qualities of Bethesda’s Fallout series? According to the report, at least one of the titles will be an “open world multiplayer” game. Indeed, with a world as complex as Herbert’s, the open-world exploration format will certainly prove to be a more attractive choice for those who enjoy immersion in games. Might there even be separate factions for Mentats, Ixians and Fremen?
The final release dates for these games haven’t been announced, but with Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the 1965 epic set to release in 2020, it’s unlikely they’ll release before then. Regardless of the direction the other games are likely to take to recreating Herbert’s world, his original is chocked with enough lore, history and mythic heroism to make experiencing it interactively a very satisfying experience indeed.
The Dune movie will release next year, with Denis Villeneuve (behind Blade Runner 2049, Sicario and Prisoners) set to direct. Timothee Chalamet will star as Paul Atreides, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Javier Bardem as Stilgar, Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Harokonnen and Zendaya as Chani. Also holding up the supporting cast are Dave Bautista as “The Beast” Rabban and Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother.
