Paramount Let’s Go of Frank Herbert’s Dune

Frank Herbert’s Dune has finally escaped Paramount purgatory, according to the latest from Deadline. The contract between the studio and rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein lapsed after the two parties failed to reach a new agreement. “Paramount’s option has expired and we couldn’t reach an agreement,” said Rubinstein, “I’m going to look at my options, and whether I wind up taking the script we developed in turnaround, or start over, I’m not sure yet.”

Paramount has been trying for the last four years to get a Dune movie off the ground, but even a completed script by Chase Palmer has been unable to get the franchise re-launched.

“Sure, it’s frustrating, how long this has taken, but most of what I’ve done that worked out well over the years, like the miniseries The Stand, took a long time,” Rubinstein said. “Since I know what I want, eventually, I’ll find someone who’ll agree with me. What I like is that talent has interesting things to say on how they would approach it.”

Dune made its first trip to the big screen in 1984 and turned out to be a boring flop. It experienced life again in 2000 as a TV mini-series, showing that the story actually did have potential if handled correctly.

Rubinstein has remarked that he’ll probably approach scriptwriter Palmer and director Pierre Morel for the project again, but for right now, “Dune has no commitments or attachments.”

If you’re new to the world of Dune, you might want to check out Darth Rachel’s Dune Re-Read for a great intro.