The hosts of Nerdist Book club announced Wednesday that Frank Herbet’s classic 1965 sci-fi epic Dune will be the subject of their next on-air discussion.
The livestream, which is hosted by Maude Garrett (GeekBomb), Hector Navarro (DC Daily), and Rachel Heine (Nerdist Editor-in-Chief), features in-depth discussions on the group’s favorite books and light conversation about wine, pets, and more. After weeding through J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in the show’s first round-table discussion, Nerdist Book Club is set to tackle the entirety of the “essential” novel over the course of six episodes, with two episodes to be spent on each book (Dune, Muad’Dib, and The Prophet).
Whether you’ve read Dune yourself, seen David Lynch’s sluggish but well-liked 1984 adaptation, or were thwarted by the book’s length one too many times, Nerdist Book Club invites you to join them as they travel to the distant, desert planet of Arrakis and into the mind of the Muad’Dib. Dune was also chosen in anticipation of the December release of Dennis Villeneuve’s (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) long-awaited attempt at transmuting Dune into a screen-worthy feature film. Six episodes will be recorded over the course of six weeks, to provide readers a manageable pace at which to read all 412 pages with plenty of time leftover to “get excited for the new feature film’s release later this year.”
Dune was originally slated for wide-release in November of this year but was pushed back one month to December, 18th, a delay that was announced prior to any coronavirus-related concerns. Plenty of press has already surfaced about Dune, from interviews with Villeneuve to dramatic stills of the film’s oddball cast (Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa) dawning stillsuits on the desolate plains of Arrakis.
Villeneuve has mentioned multiple times that he doesn’t think the complexity of Dune’s characters, politics, and story can be covered in a single film. As a result, Villeneuve’s rendition will cover only a portion of the book and is already in line for a sequel. “It’s a world that takes its power in its details,” he says. Nerdist Book Club hopes to cover the entire book in-depth, so you don’t miss out on any of those details in theaters.
The series will stream live on the Nerdist Youtube Channel, the Geek & Sundry Youtube Channel, and the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel every Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m PST, starting on May, 6th.
