Hans Zimmer Is Scoring ‘Dune’, Which Has An Official Synopsis And A Possible New Cast Member
Aside from John Williams,Hans Zimmeris in a rarified group of modern film composers who have celebrity status and widespread recognition based on their names alone. Zimmer is an Oscar winner who’s crafted scores for films likeThe Lion King, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Inception, and dozens more, and now he’s adding another sci-fi notch to his belt: Zimmer will provide theDunescore forDenis Villeneuve’s upcoming movie adaptation of the classic Frank Herbert novel.
Production has begun on the new movie, and a press release confirms Zimmer’s involvement, gives us our first official synopsis, and teases that aCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonactor may be joining this film’s already-stacked cast.
Zimmer is a welcome addition to this edition ofDune, since he’s a modern master who can potentially give this sci-fi stunner a memorable score. WhenDunewas made into a movie back in 1984, the pop bandTotoand ambient artistBrian Enohandled the music duties, and you can decide how well that worked by listening to it below:
Meanwhile, Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Prisoners) has gathered a tremendous cast here and nowChang Chen– who played the romantic desert bandit Lo in Ang Lee’sCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon– is in talks to join them, adding yet another sexy performer into this mix. Here are the actors who are already on board:Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa,andJavier Bardem. Is Villeneuve trying to destroy the internet by bringing all of these people together in the same place? It’s likethat oldSaturday Night Livesketchwhere Horatio Sanz begs Chris Kattan (as Antonio Banderas) not to take off his shirt because it’s “too sexy!”
A couple other things worth mentioning: acclaimed actorStephen Hendersonhas officially joined the cast. (You may remember him as Denzel Washington’s character’s friend inFencesor as a priest inLady Bird.) Also, prolific sci-fi author Kevin J. Anderson has been hired as a creative consultant. Anderson co-wrote theDuneprequel novels with Frank Herbert’s son, so he has a deep understanding of this mythology.
On the crew side, we knew thatGreig Fraser(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Zero Dark Thirty) wasgoing to be the movie’s cinematographerand that Villeneuvewould be reunitingwith hisArrivalandBlade Runner 2049editorJoe Walker, but now we have a better idea of the industry veterans he’s gathered to fill out the rest of the major crew positions:
The press release also revealed the film’s official synopsis for the first time:
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
