Denis Villeneuve signs on for Dune reboot

With one iconic sci-fi classic firmly in hand, Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is poised to dive into another: a reboot of the epic and influential tale Dune.

Writer Brian Herbert, son of original Dune author Frank Herbert, revealed Tuesday that the Quebec director has been tapped for the upcoming project.

Villeneuve, an Oscar contender for his widely praised alien first-contact drama Arrival, is currently at work on the much anticipated Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner2049.

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He had beenrumoured to be in early talks to helm theDunereboot in December, after Legendary Entertainment had garnered film and TV rights to Herbert's iconic 1965 novel a month earlier.

An earlier film adaptation by director David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlanin 1984was poorly received at the time but, in the years since, has gained somewhat of a cult status. The tale was also adapted as a TV miniseries in 2000.

Set in a distant future, Dune explores an interstellar feud over control of a desert planet prized as the sole producer of a valuable, life-extending substance (a narcotic called melange, nicknamed"the spice")coveted across the universe.After releasing the acclaimed novel, Hebert published five sequels.