Casting is well underway on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune reboot for Legendary Pictures and as the production start looms they are well into the pre-production stage and are now scouting for potential filming locations. HN Entertainment has learned that the production team is now scouting various filming locations for Dune and one of them happens to be the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.

Set on the planet Arrakis, we find ourselves exploring the story of two warring galactic royal families House Atreides and House Harkonnen. When Duke Leto Atreides is been assassinated, his son Paul and wife Lady Jessica flee only to be adopted by the Fremen, becomes Paul’s personal army against the Harkonnen as he develops powers from the spice, a substance that extends life and powers interstellar travel. A tangled web of royal intrigue is revealed with the Emperor and other cosmic powers pulling the strings while attempting to erase house Atreides.

Previous films that have been shot in Jordan include The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, The Martian, Aladdin, Prometheus, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Last Days On Mars, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The latter film happens to be connected to Dune, as it was recently revealed by Variety that Rogue One cinematographer Greig Fraser has joined the film. Lucasfilm used Jordan for a bunch of scenes that were set on the desert planet of Jedha.

Filming will begin sometime in March with its primary shooting location said to be Origo Film Studios in Budapest, Hungary. The same studio stage space that Villeneuve previously used for his fantastic Blade Runner 2049.

Timothee Chalamet is reportedly set for the lead role of Paul Atreides, while Rebecca Ferguson is in talks to play his young mother Lady Jessica Atreides. They’re also currently seeking a non-white actress for the role of Paul’s Fremen love interest Chani.

A release date for Dune has yet to be made official.

SOURCE: HN ENTERTAINMENT