Filming begins in about twelve days in Prague, Czechoslovakia and Tunisia. We only know one cast member at this point, and he is the Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, who will play the part of Duke Leto Atreides. We are very excited about the project. Spice represents the treasure of mythology that is guarded by the dragon. In Dune , the dragon is the great sandworm, Shai-Hulud.
Spice also represents the finite resource oil.
We're not sure where he came up with that concept, but it is one of the most imaginative concepts in the Dune universe. Dune has always been my favorite science-fiction novel of all time. I loved all six of Frank Herbert's original chronicles. And after Frank passed away in '86, I longed for the story to continue, especially since the last novel, Chapterhouse Dune , ended on such a cliffhanger. Brian and I got together through a mutual friend, Ed Kramer, and we started talking about continuing the Dune story.