The new Dune movie is based on the first Dune novel by Frank Herbert. But just how far does the first Dune 2021 movie get into the first novel, which is also simply called “Dune”? Here are the details.
The Movie Goes About Halfway Through the First Book
It’s been decades since I read the Dune books and even though I enjoyed them immensely, I don’t remember many plot details anymore. So I turned to book readers on Reddit for the details on just how far into the initial book the first movie goes.
On Reddit, Citizen_Graves revealed that Dune Part One covers about the first out of three parts of the original novel. The first novel is dense at about 600 pages, so there are quite a few plot points and scenes that are left out in the movie, even though it already only covers part of the book.
Citizen_Graves wrote: “Any details that are not essential to the overall plot are brushed over in the film, which gives the whole world depicted in the film more mystery, and I believe viewers who are non-readers will go and check out the book after seeing the film.”
There were also new characters and scenes added for the movie, Citizen_Graves continued, writing: “The film not only omits information or brushes over details, there are parts of the story, set pieces, and characters from the book that were either cut short or even entirely left out of the film. At the same time, new set-pieces and scenes were created for the film.”
It’s worth noting that quite a few readers believe the movie covers closer to half of the first novel rather than just part one of three parts. Redditor maximedhiver wrote: “It covers more than half of the second part as well, though it leaves out the side-stories about what happens to Gurney and Thufir.”
And Den of Geek noted that the movie covers about the first 320 pages of the author’s 560-page book.
How to Get the Dune Books
The Dune books are pretty easy to get, if you’re interested in reading them now that you’ve seen the first movie. (Or if you want to read them before seeing the first movie!)
Note that there are 21 total Dune books. Here’s how to read them in order, based on information shared by Esquire. Note that these are Amazon affiliate links, so this website will earn a commission on sales.
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Dune Messiah
- Children of Dune
- God Emperor of Dune
- Heretics of Dune
- Chapterhouse: Dune (this was as far as I got reading years ago, as this was the last book by Frank Herbert himself)
- House Atreides (this is by Brian Herbert, Frank’s son, and Kevin J. Anderson). This is a prelude to Frank’s books.
- House Harkonnen
- House Corinno
- The Butlerian Jihad (Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, written from Frank’s notes, and the start of a new trilogy and talks about the AI wars)
- The Machine Crusade (part 2 of the trilogy)
- The Battle of Corrin (part 3 of the trilogy)
- Hunters of Dune (Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, a two-volume series concluding Frank’s original novels using an outline he hid in a safety deposit box)
- Sandworms of Dune (Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, part two of the two-part series)
- Paul of Dune (Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, a new spinoff series taking place between Dune and Dune Messiah)
- The Winds of Dune (Brian & Kevin again, second part of the new spinoff)
- Sisterhood of Dune (Brian & Kevin again – this is likely what the new HBO Max series will be based on and is the first in a trilogy, taking place after the Battle of Corrin)
- Mentats of Dune (Brian & Kevin, part two)
- Navigators of Dune (Brian & Kevin, part three)
- The Duke of Caladan (Brian & Kevin, a new trilogy, a prequel about Paul)
- The Lady of Caladan (prequel about Jessica)
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