Dune Books and Movies: A Brief Overview

According to the results from my web search, there are a total of 23 Dune books in the franchise, but only six novels were officially written by Frank Herbert himself. The rest of the books are canon and fit somewhere in the Dune timeline, but they were written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

As of 2021, there are just two Dune movies, and they are:

Dune (1984) directed by David Lync

Dune: Part One (2021) directed by Denis Villeneuve

There is also a documentary movie called Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013) that explores the failed attempt by Alejandro Jodorowsky to adapt the book in 1973.

The Dune books and movies are connected in the sense that they are based on the same source material, but they are not part of the same continuity. Each adaptation has its own creative vision and interpretation of the original story, and they may differ in some details or events. For example, Lynch’s Dune (1984) was heavily criticized for deviating from the book and adding elements that were not present in Herbert’s novel, such as the weirding modules and the rain at the end.

Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One (2021) is more faithful to the book, but it only covers the first half of the story and leaves some subplots and characters for the sequel4. The two TV miniseries, Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000) and Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune (2003), are also based on the first three books of the series, but they have their own artistic style and changes.