The first images from the hugely anticipated Dune remake have been released, starring a strapped up Timothée Chalamet as the story’s anti-hero Paul Atreides, surveying his sandy kingdom.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) and starring Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, and Rebecca Ferguson, the film will revisit Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel that was first translated onto screen by David Lynch with his 1984 film of the same name starring Kyle MacLachlan in his screen debut. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the director revealed the film would be split into two installments, saying “I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world is too complex. It’s a world that takes its power in details.”

Set in an unknown distant future, the story plays out on the planet of Arakkis, whose arid desert plains are home to the world’s most valuable resource known as ‘the spice’, which grants the consumer superhuman powers. The Atriedes family rule over Arakkis and its supply of ‘the spice’, making them prime targets among rival noble families in the fight for control over this invaluable resource. As Villeneuve points out, despite being written nearly sixty years ago, the original story could not be more resonant today.

“No matter what you believe, Earth is changing, and we will have to adapt. That’s why I think that ‘Dune,’ this book, was written in the 20th century. It was a distant portrait of the reality of the oil and the capitalism and the exploitation — the overexploitation — of Earth. Today, things are just worse. It’s a coming-of-age story, but also a call for action for the youth.”

Dune is set for UK release on 18 December 2020.