Ride The Sandworms Of Peter Berg's Unfilmed Dune Concept Art

J is For "Jock"
This concept art by Mark "Jock" Simpson, who worked on Children of Men (2006), The Losers (2010), and the upcoming Battleship (2012) almost gave Peter Berg's Dune a much different feel.

Synopsis: Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the "spice" melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe. The story explores the complex and multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis and its "spice". - Wikipedia
Once upon a time, Peter Berg was developing a movie version of the classic 1965 Frank Herbert novel Dune. After the David Lynch 1984 film and the SyFy channel mini-series, he said he “had a much more different experience...with the book than David Lynch did." He said his version would "feel significantly different from the others."


He left the project in 2009 and, despite years in development, Paramount finally dropped plans for a remake in 2011.

Looking at the concept art below, it definitely feels "more muscular and adventurous, more violent and possibly even a little bit more fun" than the other interpretations and could have been good.

Jock was a concept artist on the film and provided a fascinating glimpse at the world Peter Berg was imagining. His bold use of color and composition give it a dramatic feel.

Seas of Caladan
Fremen Caves

Sandworm Attack
Paul Atreides: Age 12-13, Age 14-15, Age 16-17
Sardaukar Attack
Spice Mining

The following are a selection of Sand (Spice) Worm designs 
In the series, the sandworms  — called Shai-Hulud (pronounced /ˈʃaɪ hʉˈluːd/) among the Fremen of the desert planet Arrakis (Dune)  — are worshiped as manifestations of "the earth deity of Fremen hearth superstitions." The Fremen believe that the actions of the sandworms are the direct actions of God, and so the worms have been given numerous titles such as the "Great Maker", "The Maker", and the "Worm who is God."(God Emperor of Dune). Virtually indestructible and with indefinite lifespans of potentially thousands of years, the giant sandworms are also referred to as the "Old Man of the Desert", "Old Father Eternity" and "Grandfather of the Desert". The worms may also be referred to by Fremen as Shaitan, post God-Emperor.  - Wikipedia
Newborn worm



@ 2008 Copyright Paramount Pictures

Via ComingSoon.net

What do you think of the illustrations? Have you read the books? Do you think these would have captured the spirit of Dune?



This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 27 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

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Comments

  1. Love those illustrations. It would be cool to see them come to life.

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  2. Thanks for visiting my blog and your kind comment. I remember seeing the movie Dune years ago; very interesting to see the illustrations here and read about the creator of them! Enjoy the rest of the challenge!

    betty

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  3. Hi there, thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm afraid that I'm far behind in the movie world - I don't have many opportunities to see new films these days.  But love your passion for the art involved - and I would be interested to  know in what capacity you interviewed so many well known artists? How did those occasions arise? Thanks!

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  4. Lord they're creepy looking. And why oh why did Peter Berg drop the project? He does good work and I would have loved to see another version of Dune. 

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  5. You're welcome Betty. Great blog you have and thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Yeah Laurita, I'm sorry the movie didn't go forward. Jock had an original look for these worms.

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  7. Bozo, I've been honored to find so many friendly artists. Most respond to a simple email request and the interview goes forward! I try not to ask stupid questions.

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  8. In 1972, I bought two new books from my school's book club. One was Fellowship of the Ring. The other was Dune. Wow. 

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  9. CD, it must have been great reading it without all the expectations. Amazingly enough I only read Dune a few years ago. Great novel.

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  10. Thanks for answering :-)  Love that you follow your interests and make things happen.

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