IGN’s The Path to Dune brings you exclusive sneak peeks at director Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated, big screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi saga. While our first installment highlighted House Atreides and the second focused on the Fremen, this week’s showcases House Harkonnen, the tyrannical villains of Dune.
Dune takes place thousands of years in the future, during a time when humanity has spread to other worlds in the galaxy. In this future, power is shared between a monarch known as the Padishah Emperor, the Space Guild, and a collection of feudal houses known as the Landsraad. In this era, a substance called Melange is a psychotropic spice that can enhance the mind and prolong life, with some users even gaining psychic abilities and the power to access the shared memories of their ancestors.
Much of Herbert’s Dune saga centers around a desert planet called Arrakis. Though remote and all but inhospitable (thanks to both its extremely dry climate and the presence of massive, roving sand worms), Arrakis is the only major source of Spice in the universe. Whichever house controls Arrakis stands to reap great wealth, but also faces constant danger from rival houses. There's a reason people in the Dune-verse have the saying, "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe."
One of the many rich yet complicated aspects of Dune is the vicious dynamic between the rival Great Houses that control politics, wealth, and power in the Galactic Padishah Empire. In a nutshell, Duke Leto’s House Atreides are the good guys and House Harkonnen -- led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by MCU veteran Stellan Skarsgård -- are the bad guys. House Harkonnen comes from the bleak, heavily industrialized world of Giedi Prime. For director Denis Villeneuve, distilling such complex maneuvering down into an understandable subplot for Dune, Part One proved “a challenge,” but he cited one particular cast member as his “secret weapon” for making it work.
“The politics of Dune is quite interesting and we try to keep it as simple as possible, keeping how rich it is. That was a challenge. I will say that my secret weapon for that was Stellan Skarsgård,” Villeneuve explained during a Q&A last year.
For more on “secret weapon” Stellan Skarsgård’s character and House Harkonnen, check out the exclusive videos below:
“The desert takes the weak. My desert. My Dune.” One of the wealthiest members of the Landsraad, House Harkonnen is the bitter rival of House Atreides. This sinister family is ruled by the cruel, hedonistic Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. As Dune begins, House Atreides has been granted control of Arrakis by the Emperor, displacing House Harkonnen, who had controlled the harvesting of Spice for generations.
While Baron Harkonnen pretends to be outraged over losing control of Arrakis to his rival, Duke Leto, in reality, he hopes to use the situation as an opportunity to destroy his enemy once and for all. Avengers actor Stellan Skarsgård endured hours of heavy makeup to transform into the monstrous, morbidly obese Baron, who is strapped into “suspensors” in order to move (or, more precisely, float) and literally lord over other characters.
Dune cast another Marvel veteran, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, in the key role of the Harkonnens’ psychotic chief enforcer, Glossu “The Beast” Rabban. Through Beast Rabban, House Harkonnen has brutally suppressed Arrakis’ indigenous population, the Fremen, in their pursuit of the planet’s most valuable natural resource.
Living up to his nickname, Rabban is a dim-witted, savage animal who uses brute force to instill fear and secure the Harkonnens’ nefarious goals. Dune reunites actor Dave Bautista with his Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve.
In this era, advanced technology like computers and atomic weapons are strictly forbidden. Instead, most technology relies on human brainpower. Specially trained "Mentats" have conditioned themselves to operate as living computers. One such Mentat is the cunning and twisted Piter De Vries, who serves House Harkonnen. His rival is the House Atreides’ Mentat, Thufir Hawat. Where Beast Rabban offers Baron Harkonnen physical might, De Vries plays a game of psychic warfare between the warring Houses. He is played by The Suicide Squad’s David Dastmalchian, who previously worked with Dune director Denis Villeneuve on Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049.
Continue with IGN on The Path to Dune for more exclusive first looks leading up until the film’s release in the US on October 22 and in the UK and Australia on October 21.
Continue reading...
Dune takes place thousands of years in the future, during a time when humanity has spread to other worlds in the galaxy. In this future, power is shared between a monarch known as the Padishah Emperor, the Space Guild, and a collection of feudal houses known as the Landsraad. In this era, a substance called Melange is a psychotropic spice that can enhance the mind and prolong life, with some users even gaining psychic abilities and the power to access the shared memories of their ancestors.
Much of Herbert’s Dune saga centers around a desert planet called Arrakis. Though remote and all but inhospitable (thanks to both its extremely dry climate and the presence of massive, roving sand worms), Arrakis is the only major source of Spice in the universe. Whichever house controls Arrakis stands to reap great wealth, but also faces constant danger from rival houses. There's a reason people in the Dune-verse have the saying, "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe."
One of the many rich yet complicated aspects of Dune is the vicious dynamic between the rival Great Houses that control politics, wealth, and power in the Galactic Padishah Empire. In a nutshell, Duke Leto’s House Atreides are the good guys and House Harkonnen -- led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by MCU veteran Stellan Skarsgård -- are the bad guys. House Harkonnen comes from the bleak, heavily industrialized world of Giedi Prime. For director Denis Villeneuve, distilling such complex maneuvering down into an understandable subplot for Dune, Part One proved “a challenge,” but he cited one particular cast member as his “secret weapon” for making it work.
“The politics of Dune is quite interesting and we try to keep it as simple as possible, keeping how rich it is. That was a challenge. I will say that my secret weapon for that was Stellan Skarsgård,” Villeneuve explained during a Q&A last year.
For more on “secret weapon” Stellan Skarsgård’s character and House Harkonnen, check out the exclusive videos below:
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
“The desert takes the weak. My desert. My Dune.” One of the wealthiest members of the Landsraad, House Harkonnen is the bitter rival of House Atreides. This sinister family is ruled by the cruel, hedonistic Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. As Dune begins, House Atreides has been granted control of Arrakis by the Emperor, displacing House Harkonnen, who had controlled the harvesting of Spice for generations.
While Baron Harkonnen pretends to be outraged over losing control of Arrakis to his rival, Duke Leto, in reality, he hopes to use the situation as an opportunity to destroy his enemy once and for all. Avengers actor Stellan Skarsgård endured hours of heavy makeup to transform into the monstrous, morbidly obese Baron, who is strapped into “suspensors” in order to move (or, more precisely, float) and literally lord over other characters.
Beast Rabban
Dune cast another Marvel veteran, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, in the key role of the Harkonnens’ psychotic chief enforcer, Glossu “The Beast” Rabban. Through Beast Rabban, House Harkonnen has brutally suppressed Arrakis’ indigenous population, the Fremen, in their pursuit of the planet’s most valuable natural resource.
Living up to his nickname, Rabban is a dim-witted, savage animal who uses brute force to instill fear and secure the Harkonnens’ nefarious goals. Dune reunites actor Dave Bautista with his Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve.
Piter De Vries
In this era, advanced technology like computers and atomic weapons are strictly forbidden. Instead, most technology relies on human brainpower. Specially trained "Mentats" have conditioned themselves to operate as living computers. One such Mentat is the cunning and twisted Piter De Vries, who serves House Harkonnen. His rival is the House Atreides’ Mentat, Thufir Hawat. Where Beast Rabban offers Baron Harkonnen physical might, De Vries plays a game of psychic warfare between the warring Houses. He is played by The Suicide Squad’s David Dastmalchian, who previously worked with Dune director Denis Villeneuve on Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049.
Continue with IGN on The Path to Dune for more exclusive first looks leading up until the film’s release in the US on October 22 and in the UK and Australia on October 21.
Continue reading...