Draft:Dune (book series)

The Dune series is a sequence of novels originally written by Frank Herbert. Following his death, the series was concluded by Brian Herbert, his son, and Kevin J. Anderson.

The first novel in the series, Dune (1965), is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history, and won the 1966 Hugo Award and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Herbert wrote five sequels before he died in 1986. Brian Herbert and Anderson have published Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), sequels to Frank Herbert's final novel Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) which complete the chronological progression of his original series and wrap up storylines that began with his Heretics of Dune (1984).

The success of the series has created a media franchise which includes films, television series, comic books, and video games. Brian Herbert and Anderson have also written several prequel novels to the main book series.

Original series
Herbert's interest in the desert setting of Dune and its challenges is attributed to research he began in 1957 for a never-completed article about a United States Department of Agriculture experiment using poverty grass to stabilize damaging sand dunes, which could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, and highways." Herbert spent the next five years researching, writing, and revising what would eventually become the novel Dune, which was initially serialized in Analog magazine as two shorter works, Dune World (1963) and The Prophet of Dune (1965). The serialized version was expanded and reworked—and rejected by more than 20 publishers—before being published by Chilton Books, a printing house best known for its auto repair manuals, in 1965. Dune won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966, and the 1966 Hugo Award. The novel has been translated into dozens of languages, and has sold almost 20 million copies. Dune has been regularly cited as one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels.

A sequel, Dune Messiah, followed in 1969. A third novel called Children of Dune was published in 1976, and was later nominated for a Hugo Award. Children of Dune became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field. Parts of these two first sequels were written before Dune was completed.

In 1978, Putnam Books published The Illustrated Dune, an edition of Dune with 33 black-and-white sketch drawings and eight full color paintings by John Schoenherr, who had done the cover art for the first printing of Dune and had illustrated the Analog serializations of Dune and Children of Dune. Herbert wrote in 1980 that though he had not spoken to Schoenherr prior to the artist creating the paintings, the author was surprised to find that the artwork appeared exactly as he had imagined its fictional subjects, including sandworms, Baron Harkonnen and the Sardaukar.

In 1981, Herbert released God Emperor of Dune, which was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly. Heretics of Dune, the 1984 #13 hardcover fiction best seller, was followed in quick succession by Chapterhouse: Dune in 1985. Herbert died on February 11, 1986.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert had discovered his father's 30-page outline for a sequel to Chapterhouse Dune, which the elder Herbert had dubbed Dune 7. After publishing their six Duns prequel novels, Brian Herbert and [[Kevin J. Anderson released Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), which complete the original series and wrap up storylines that began with Frank Herbert's Heretics of Dune.

Jon Michaud of The New Yorker wrote in 2013, "The conversion of Dune into a franchise, while pleasing readers and earning royalties for the Herbert estate, has gone a long way toward obscuring the power of the original novel."

Short stories
In 1985, Frank Herbert wrote an illustrated short work called "The Road to Dune", set sometime between the events of Dune and Dune Messiah. Published in Herbert's short story collection Eye, it takes the form of a guidebook for pilgrims to Arrakis and features images (with descriptions) of some of the devices and characters presented in the novels.

Themes and influences
The Dune series is a landmark of soft science fiction. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his Dune universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. Dune considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time. Jon Michaud of The New Yorker called the originating novel Dune "an epic of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship, and messianic deliverance." Director John Harrison, who adapted Dune for Syfy's 2000 miniseries, called the novel a universal and timeless reflection of "the human condition and its moral dilemmas", and said: "A lot of people refer to Dune as science fiction. I never do. I consider it an epic adventure in the classic storytelling tradition, a story of myth and legend not unlike the Morte d'Arthur or any messiah story. It just happens to be set in the future... The story is actually more relevant today than when Herbert wrote it. In the 1960s, there were just these two colossal superpowers duking it out. Today we're living in a more feudal, corporatized world more akin to Herbert's universe of separate families, power centers and business interests, all interrelated and kept together by the one commodity necessary to all."

Brian Herbert explained that "Frank Herbert drew parallels, used spectacular metaphors, and extrapolated present conditions into world systems that seem entirely alien at first blush. But close examination reveals they aren't so different from systems we know." He wrote that the invaluable drug melange "represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil". Michaud explained, "Imagine a substance with the combined worldwide value of cocaine and petroleum and you will have some idea of the power of melange." Each chapter of Dune begins with an epigraph excerpted from the fictional writings of the character Princess Irulan. In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context, and other details intended by Herbert to enhance understanding of his complex fictional universe and themes.

Michaud wrote in 2013, "With daily reminders of the intensifying effects of global warming, the spectre of a worldwide water shortage, and continued political upheaval in the oil-rich Middle East, it is possible that Dune is even more relevant now than when it was first published." Praising Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to excise robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, he suggested that "This de-emphasis on technology throws the focus back on people. It also allows for the presence of a religious mysticism uncommon in science fiction."

Environmentalism and ecology
The originating novel Dune has been called the "first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale". After the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. Dune responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of life on Arrakis, from giant sandworms (for whom water is deadly) to smaller, mouse-like life-forms adapted to live with limited water. Dune was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as A Door into Ocean (1986) and Red Mars (1992). Environmentalists have pointed out that Dune popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex, almost living, thing, in combination with the first images of Earth from space being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international Earth Day.

Declining empires
Lorenzo DiTommaso compared Dune portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which argues that Christianity allied with the profligacy of the Roman elite led to the fall of Ancient Rome. In "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's Dune" (1992), DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler through an excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites". The Baron Harkonnen is similarly corrupt, materially indulgent, and a sexual degenerate. Gibbon's Decline and Fall partly blames the fall of Rome on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon claimed that this exotic import from a conquered province weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack.

Similarly, the Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Arrakis because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and the Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others. The decline and long peace of the Empire sets the stage for revolution and renewal by genetic mixing of successful and unsuccessful groups through war, a process culminating in the Jihad led by Paul Atreides, described by Herbert as depicting "war as a collective orgasm" (drawing on Norman Walter's 1950 The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare). These themes reappear in God Emperor of Dune Scattering and Leto II Atreides's all-female Fish Speaker army.

Heroism
Brian Herbert wrote that "Dune is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange...[that] resembles the myth described by an unknown English poet in Beowulf, the compelling tale of a fearsome fire dragon who guarded a great treasure hoard in a lair under cliffs."

Paul's rise to superhuman status follows the hero's journey template; after unfortunate circumstances are forced onto him, he suffers a long period of hardship and exile, and finally confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale. As such, Dune is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features a character who attains godlike status through scientific means. Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better [to] rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes." He wrote in 1985, "Dune was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by the numbers who follow without question."

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of Dune from earlier heroes such as Superman, van Vogt's Gilbert Gosseyn and Henry Kuttner's telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen, Swordmasters of Ginaz and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Spacing Guild Navigators).

Middle-Eastern and Islamic influences
Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in Arabic, as well as the series' "Islamic undertones" and themes, a Middle Eastern influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly.

As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides' character bears many similarities to the historical T. E. Lawrence, whose 1962 biopic Lawrence of Arabia has also been identified as an influence. Lesley Blanch's novel The Sabres of Paradise (1960) about Muslim resistance to the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, has also been identified as a major influence upon Dune, with its depiction of Imam Shamil, the Caucasian Imamate, and the Islamic culture of the Caucasus inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of Dune. Multiple proverbs recorded by Blanch's The Sabres as originating from the Caucasus Mountains are included in Dune, such as "polish comes from the city, wisdom from the hills," becoming "polish comes from the cities, wisdom from the desert" for Arrakis.

The environment of the desert planet Arrakis is similar to the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, as well as to Mexico. The novel also contains references to the petroleum industries in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as well as Mexico. The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by the Bedouin tribes of Arabia, and the Mahdi prophecy originates from Islamic eschatology. Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian ibn Khaldun's cyclical history and his dynastic concept in North Africa, hinted by Herbert's reference to ibn Khaldun's book Kitāb al-ʿIbar "The Book of Lessons" as known among the Fremen.

Additional linguistic and historic influences
In addition to Arabic, Dune derives words and names from multiple other languages, including Hebrew, Navajo, Latin, Chakobsa, the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, Greek, Persian, East Indian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, Dutch and Old English. Through the inspiration from Lesley Blanch's The Sabres of Paradise, there are also allusions to the Tsarist-era Russian nobility and Cossacks. Frank Herbert stated that bureaucracy that lasted long enough would become a hereditary nobility, and a significant theme behind the aristocratic families in Dune was "aristocratic bureaucracy" which he saw as analogous to the Soviet Union.

Religion
Brian Herbert called the Dune universe "a spiritual melting pot", noting that his father, Frank Herbert, incorporated elements of a variety of religions, including Buddhism, Sufi mysticism and other Islamic belief systems, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Hinduism. He added that Frank Herbert's fictional future in which "religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms" represents the author's solution to eliminating arguments between religions, each of which claim to have "the one and only revelation." Frank Herbert writes that, in the aftermath of the technology-purging Butlerian Jihad, the Bene Gesserit composed the Azhar Book, which "preserves the great secrets of the most ancient faiths". Soon after, an ecumenical council created a syncretic religion defined by the Orange Catholic Bible, which would become the primary orthodox religious text in the universe. Its title suggests a merging of Protestantism (Orange Order) and Catholicism. Herbert writes in the glossary of Dune: "Orange Catholic Bible: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: "Thou shalt not disfigure the soul.""

Early in his newspaper career, Frank Herbert was introduced to Zen, a school of Mahayana Buddhism, by two Jungian psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, who "gave a crucial boost to his thinking". Zen teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work". Throughout the Dune series and particularly in Dune, Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from Zen Buddhism. The Fremen are Zensunni adherents, and many of Herbert's epigraphs are Zen-spirited. In "Dune Genesis", Frank Herbert wrote: "What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fuguelike relationships of images that exactly replay the way Dune took shape ... I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. The central paradox concerns the human vision of time. What about Paul's gift of prescience—the Presbyterian fixation? For the Delphic Oracle to perform, it must tangle itself in a web of predestination. Yet predestination negates surprises and, in fact, sets up a mathematically enclosed universe whose limits are always inconsistent, always encountering the unprovable. It's like a koan, a Zen mind breaker."

The Bene Gesserit practice "religious engineering" (social engineering), through the Missionaria Protectiva, which spreads contrived myths, prophecies and superstition on primitive worlds so that the Sisterhood may at a much later time exploit embedded belief to advance their universal strategies. Herbert suggests a process of wish-fulfilling recognition of "sacred" texts created by the Bene Gesserit's master plan in a particular person, and transforming events into common belief. In the novels, the Fremen religion on Arrakis has been thus influenced, allowing Paul to embody their prophesied messiah. Paul is agonized by visions of terrible jihad which will destroy the Imperium, but he becomes Paul Muad'Dib, Mahdi of the Fremen, accepting the role imposed by Bene Gesserit. A new religion sweeps Paul to power.

Between the events of Dune and Dune Messiah, the name Muad'Dib becomes a battle cry on the lips of the Fremen army that sweeps across the universe in a jihad in the name of Muad'Dib's religion. The population of the universe sees Muad'Dib as their god, whether they like it or not, and they cannot deny his power religiously. The Fremen culture is irreparably damaged by jihad; the new religion takes shape of rituals that are dependent on Muad'Dib's omnipresence. As Muad'Dib, Paul is the messiah and the Emperor (King of Kings) who gives himself to fate and becomes a martyr to his followers, wanders blinded into the desert to die, later finding emancipation as a heretic of his own church as the Preacher. The regency of Paul's sister Alia and the Qizarate priests continue to promote Muad'Dib's religion to help keep control of the universe, ensuring that others do not oppose them. In his Golden Path, Herbert presents an argument of how to create a healthy society, avoiding despotism and hero worship, a trap in which social groups can be caught: "To make a world where human kind can make its own future from moment to moment, free from one man's vision. Free from the perversion of the prophets words. And free of future pre-determined..."

Legacy
The political, scientific, and social fictional setting of Herbert's novels and derivative works is known as the Dune universe or Duniverse. Dune has been widely influential, inspiring numerous novels, music, films, television, games, and comic books. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential science fiction novels of all time, with numerous modern science fiction works such as Star Wars owing their existence to Dune. Dune has also been referenced in numerous other works of popular culture, such as Star Trek, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Kingkiller Chronicle, and Futurama. Dune was cited as the prime inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's manga, and later film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982–1994).

Jon Michaud noted in 2013 in The New Yorker, "what's curious about Dune stature is that it has not penetrated popular culture in the way that The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars have." He praised Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to excise robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, but suggested that this may be one explanation why Dune lacks "true fandom among science-fiction fans".

Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains (planitiae) and complexes of valleys (labyrinthi) on Saturn's moon Titan. Planet names used to date include Arrakis, Caladan, Giedi Prime, Kaitain, Salusa Secundus, and Tleilax. The Hagal dune field and other sites on Mars are informally named after planets mentioned in the Dune series. The city of Tacoma, Washington, Herbert's birthplace, dedicated part of Point Defiance Park as the "Dune Peninsula" to honor the writer and the series.

Films
In 1973, director and writer Alejandro Jodorowsky set about creating a cinematic adaptation, taking over the option that producer Arthur P. Jacobs had taken on the film adaptation rights in 1973 shortly before his death. Jodorowsky approached, among others, Peter Gabriel, the prog rock groups Pink Floyd and Magma for some of the music, artists H. R. Giger and Jean Giraud for set and character design, and Dan O'Bannon for special effects. Jodorowsky cast his own son Brontis Jodorowsky in the lead role of Paul Atreides, Salvador Dalí as Emperor Shaddam IV, Amanda Lear as Princess Irulan, Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Gloria Swanson as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, David Carradine as Duke Leto Atreides, Geraldine Chaplin as Lady Jessica, Alain Delon as Duncan Idaho, Hervé Villechaize as Gurney Halleck, Udo Kier as Piter De Vries, and Mick Jagger as Feyd-Rautha. He began writing a vast script, so expansive that the movie was thought to potentially last 14 hours. The project, nevertheless, was scrapped for financial reasons, leaving Jodorowsky's unfinished handwritten script in a notebook that was partially published as a facsimile in 2012 as part of the 100 Notes – 100 Thoughts catalog of the 13th documenta exhibition. Frank Pavich directed a documentary about this unrealized project entitled Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in May 2013, and was released theatrically in March 2014.

In 1984, Dino De Laurentiis and Universal Pictures released Dune, a feature film adaptation of the novel by director and writer David Lynch. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, Jürgen Prochnow as Duke Leto Atreides, Francesca Annis as Lady Jessica, Sean Young as Chani, Kenneth McMillan as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Siân Phillips as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Max von Sydow as Doctor Kynes, Sting as Feyd-Rautha, Freddie Jones as Thufir Hawat, Richard Jordan as Duncan Idaho, Everett McGill as Stilgar, Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck, Dean Stockwell as Doctor Wellington Yueh, and José Ferrer as Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. Although a commercial and critical failure upon release, Frank Herbert himself was reportedly pleased with the movie, as it stayed more faithful to the book than earlier movie adaptation attempts. However, he had his reservations on its failures at the time, citing the lack of "imagination" in its marketing and estimated costs, and some of the filmmaker's production techniques.

In 2008, Paramount Pictures announced that it had a new feature film adaptation of Dune in development with Peter Berg set to direct; Berg dropped out of the project in October 2009, and director Pierre Morel was signed in January 2010. Paramount dropped the project in March 2011.

In November 2016, Legendary Pictures acquired the film and TV rights for Dune. Variety reported in December 2016 that Denis Villeneuve was in negotiations to direct the project, which was confirmed in February 2017. In early 2018, Villeneuve stated that his goal was to adapt the novel into a two-part film series. He said in May 2018 that the first draft of the script had been finished. Villeneuve said, "Most of the main ideas of Star Wars are coming from Dune so it's going to be a challenge to [tackle] this. The ambition is to do the Star Wars movie I never saw. In a way, it's Star Wars for adults." In July 2018, Brian Herbert confirmed that the latest draft of the screenplay covered "approximately half of the novel Dune." Timothée Chalamet was cast to play Paul Atreides. Greig Fraser joined the project as cinematographer in December 2018. In September 2018, it was reported that Rebecca Ferguson was in talks to play Jessica Atreides. In January 2019, Dave Bautista and Stellan Skarsgård joined the production, playing Glossu Rabban and Vladimir Harkonnen, respectively. It was reported later that month that Charlotte Rampling had been cast as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto, Zendaya as Chani, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar. In February 2019, Josh Brolin was cast as Gurney Halleck, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, and David Dastmalchian as Piter De Vries. Filming began March 18, 2019, and the film was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary and Jordan. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Villeneuve's Dune was released on October 22, 2021. Dune was a critical and commercial success, leading Legendary Pictures to greenlight a sequel, Dune: Part Two, within that week. The film was released on March 1, 2024.

Television
The Sci-Fi Channel premiered a three-part miniseries adaptation called Frank Herbert's Dune on December 3, 2000. Its March 16, 2003 sequel, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune, combined both Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. As of 2004, both miniseries were two of the three highest-rated programs ever to be broadcast on Syfy. Frank Herbert's Dune won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001, for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special. The miniseries was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special. Frank Herbert's Children of Dune won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special in 2003. The miniseries was also nominated for Emmys for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie, and Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or Movie (Non-Prosthetic).

Comics and graphic novels
A comic book adaptation of David Lynch's film Dune, by writer Ralph Macchio and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, was produced by Marvel Comics and was published in various formats. On December 1, 1984, it was published with Putnam Books in a small paperback as Dune: The Official Comic Book. It was later released as Marvel Super Special: Dune on April 1, 1985, and as a three-issue limited comic series from Marvel simply titled Dune from April to June 1985.

In January 2020, Entertainment Weekly reported that Abrams Books was developing a three-part graphic novel adaptation of Dune, which was the first time the novel has been published in this format. Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1 was written by Brian Herbert and Anderson and illustrated by Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín, with covers by Bill and was published on November 24, 2020. Sienkiewicz. Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 2 - Muad'Dib was published on July 5, 2022, while Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3 - The Prophet'' will be published on July 26, 2024.

Video games
Six licensed Dune computer and video games have been released. The first was Dune (1992) from Cryo Interactive/Virgin Interactive. Another game developed at the same time, Westwood Studios' Dune II (1992), is generally credited for popularizing and setting the template for the real-time strategy genre of computer games. Dune II is considered to be among the most influential video games of all time.

Dune 2000 (1998) is a remake of Dune II from Intelligent Games/Westwood Studios/Virgin Interactive. Its sequel was the 3D video game Emperor: Battle for Dune (2001) by Intelligent Games/Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts. The 3D game Frank Herbert's Dune (2001) by Cryo Interactive/DreamCatcher Interactive is based on the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries of the same name.

On February 26, 2019, Funcom announced that it was entering into an exclusive partnership with Legendary Pictures to develop video games related to the upcoming Dune films. The first game, []Dune: Spice Wars]], developed by Shiro Games, was released in early access on April 26, 2022.

Other games
The board game Dune was released by Avalon Hill in 1979, followed by a Parker Brothers game Dune in 1984. A 1997 collectible card game called Dune was followed by the role-playing game Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium in 2000. The 1979 Avalon Hill game was republished by Gale Force Nine in 2019. The board game Dune: Imperium was published by Dire Wolf in 2021. In May 2021, a tabletop RPG, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, was released by Modiphius Entertainment. It won a Gold ENNIE Award for "Best Writing" and was also nominated for "Product of the Year." In January 2022, characters from both Rick and Morty parodies of Dune (in particular Paul Atreides-themed versions of Morty Smith) were made available as playable characters in the franchise video game Pocket Mortys.

Merchandising
A line of Dune action figures from toy company LJN was released to lackluster sales in 1984. Styled after David Lynch's film, the collection featured figures of Paul Atreides, Baron Harkonnen, Feyd, Rabban, Stilgar, and a Sardaukar warrior, plus a poseable sandworm, several vehicles and weapons, and a set of View-Master stereoscope reels. Figures of Gurney and Lady Jessica previewed in LJN's catalog were never produced. In 2006, SOTA Toys produced a Baron Harkonnen action figure for their "Now Playing Presents" line. In October 2019, Funko announced a "Dune Classic" line of POP! vinyl figures, the first of which are Paul in a stillsuit and Feyd in a blue jumpsuit, styled after Lynch's film. An alternate version of Feyd in his blue loincloth was released for the 2019 New York Comic Con.

Soundtrack albums have been released for the 1984 film, the 2000 TV miniseries, and the 2003 Children of Dune miniseries, as well as the 1992 video game, the 2001 computer game Emperor: Battle for Dune, and select tracks from the entire series of Dune video games.

Relevant literature

 * Batt, Jason D. 2020. "Strange Water: An Exile into the Deep Self in Frank Herbert's Dune." Mythological Studies Journal 8:9-14.