Magazine cover previews the colossal sandworms of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The trailer for director Denis Villenuve's adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic DUNE will be attached to Christopher Nolan's TENET in theatres, and just yesterday we learned that the trailer will be available to watch online as of September 9th. Before we get there, Empire Magazine is devoting the cover of their September 3rd issue to DUNE.

There will be two different DUNE covers to choose from when the Empire issue hits the stands, while subscribers will be getting their own cover. The magazine's Twitter account has shared a look at all three covers – and the one for subscribers offers the first glimpse at one of the colossal sandworms that will be featured in the film.

For the general audience, the sandworms may be the most popular aspect of DUNE, so we've been curious to see what they're going to look like in the new movie.

The sleeper has awakened. Empire's WORLD-EXCLUSIVE #Dune issue, on sale Thurs 3 September, goes on set on the desert planet of Arrakis – and there are two covers to collect. First up, meet House Atreides. READ MORE: https://t.co/WYPn8ISZU2 pic.twitter.com/O9DEtyC4NK

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) August 28, 2020

The second collectible cover for Empire’s WORLD-EXCLUSIVE #Dune issue, on sale Thursday 3 September, features the Fremen – plus Liet-Kynes, and Duncan Idaho. READ MORE: https://t.co/WYPn8ISZU2 pic.twitter.com/zEVo9sUMYV

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) August 28, 2020

This month’s subscriber cover, created exclusively for Empire in collaboration with the filmmakers behind #Dune, is a terrifying glimpse at the colossal sandworms of Arrakis. READ MORE: https://t.co/WYPn8ISZU2 pic.twitter.com/3w92hRsDrB

— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) August 28, 2020

Villenuve's take on the material stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, 

a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

The cast also includes Oscar Issac as Paul's father Duke Leto Atreides, Rebecca Ferguson as Paul's mother Lady Jessica, Jason Momoa as swordmaster Duncan Idaho, Javier Bardem as helpful tribe leader Stilgar, Josh Brolin as troubadour-swordsman Gurney Halleck, Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Dave Bautista as Harkonnen's brutish nephew Glossu Rabban, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as ecologist Doctor Liet Kynes, Charlotte Rampling as the emperor's truthsayer Reverend Mother Mohiam, David Dastmalchian as the twisted Piter De Vries, Chang Chen as Atreides family physician Dr. Yueh, and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Master of Assassins for House Atreides.

Villeneuve wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts, and produced the film with Mary Parent and Cale Boyter. Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull, and Kim Herbert served as executive producers. Kevin J. Anderson was the creative consultant. 

This will be the third adaptation of DUNE. The two previous adaptations were a 1984 film directed by David Lynch and a 2000 mini-series directed by John Harrison. The new film is set to reach theatres on December 18th.