Over the years, the fans have come to appreciate the movie much more. I think they are overlooking the minor discrepancies in the movie, and Kevin concurs with me on that one. 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.