In recent months, it has become clear which is the franchise in fashion. After the decline of Marvel Studios and superhero movies in general, a new phenomenon has emerged that we deeply appreciate: the success of Dune. After a first part that was conventional but promised to have much more to offer, this year Dune: Part II was released and has become, for now, the biggest success of 2024.
Related: Why an adaptation of Dune: Messiah is not as good of an idea as it seems
The second part of Dune has been so successful that its director, Denis Villeneuve has managed to get Legendary Pictures to accept the development of a third part. In this way, Dune will be concluded with Dune: Messiah, the fall of Paul Atreides to power after the rise he has had in the previous two installments. With this film, the story of Paul will come to an end, although there are many more Dune stories that can be explored.
In his lifetime, Frank Herbert published six novels of Dune, of which Villeneuve has only adapted the first one – and will adapt the second one. In addition, his son Brian Herbert continued his legacy with up to twelve more novels, of which it is expected that even more will be published in the future. It is clear that Dune is a very vast universe that lends itself to series, movies, video games, and whatever is necessary. And that is why we were not only going to see the first Dune adapted on the big screen.
Beyond David Lynch‘s original Dune, and even the series Children of Dune, released in 2003 adapting the third novel, there is a recent movie that adapts another Dune story. Its title is Exoplanet Dune in Danger (Planet Dune), it was released the same year as Villeneuve’s first part (2021) and is directed by Greg Yaitanes, the filmmaker behind movies like Deadly Impact, Killer Conspiracy, or Plan B. No, none of these films are very well-known…
We lived better in ignorance…
If you expect an interesting expansion of the Dune universe, Exoplanet Dune in Danger is not your movie. Far from being an alternative proposal to the original film or a minimally interesting artistic exercise, it is a B-movie with ridiculous production values and a pathetic story. Without a doubt, the best thing about this movie is that it helps us appreciate the magnificent work of Denis Villeneuve. If we put them on a scale, Villeneuve’s work becomes nothing less than The Godfather.
The movie synopsis makes it clear what the story is about. A rescue crew embarks on a mission to rescue an abandoned base on a desert planet. But the mission is jeopardized when the crew is pursued and attacked by the planet’s predators: giant sandworms.
Come on, there’s nothing more than the bare minimum that could be done with such an impressive universe like Dune. They’ve only taken the giant sandworms, such an easy resource that even appears in Beetlejuice, and used them as monsters to escape from. No politics, no Harkonnens, no Atreides or anything similar. Here there’s only action and cheesiness… well, a gem for fans of movies like Sharknado.
The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video, and to give you an idea of how poorly made it is, it doesn’t even reach an hour and a half in duration. It’s a movie that seems to come from another time; not even in the early 2000s were things so poorly done. It doesn’t even resemble the cult movie that David Lynch’s Dune is considered to be.
So, just for your information, Exoplanet Dune in Danger is available on Prime Video. But watch it at your own risk… don’t say we didn’t warn you.
