Top image: Still, ‘Dune’ (1984) dir. David Lynch

Last November, news spread that Legendary Pictures had acquired the rights to Frank Herbert’s Dune. Film fans soon started debating which director was going to be brave enough to tackle the film that has previously eluded so many.

Now the wait is over. This morning, Herbert’s son Brian revealed that Canadian wunderkind Denis Villeneuve is onboard to direct the remake. The Academy Award-nominated director of last year’s Arrival, and this year’s highly-anticipated Blade Runner 2049, will follow in the rather unsuccessful footsteps of Alejandro Jodorowsky, who ultimately failed to produce his extravagant version of the novel (featuring the likes of Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali), and David Lynch, whose 1984 film adaptation badly flopped.

With Villeneuve proving to be the go-to sci-fi director right now, this project could be a make or break moment. Either way, we can’t wait to see what happens.

It's official — Legendary Pictures has signed the very talented Denis Villeneuve to direct the exciting new DUNE series film project.

— Brian Herbert (@DuneAuthor) February 1, 2017