Skull & Bones, Ubisoft's upcoming pirate game, will not be at September 10's Ubisoft Forward, but its production is "in full swing with a new vision." Skull & Bones' creative director Elisabeth Pellen gave an update on the game's development, saying the team at Ubisoft Singapore is "fully committed to launching the game, as well as supporting it for many years to come." Pellen and the team "dreamt something bigger for Skull & Bones, and these ambitions naturally came with bigger challenges." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/12/skull-and-bones-cinematic-announcement-trailer-e3-2017-ubisoft-conference"] She also ran through some of the critical questions the team had to ask themselves, including "how do we modernize the classic pirate fantasy? How do we ensure a more immersive and visceral experience? How do we create cool and memorable moments in-game?" The answer, according to Pellen, is "more development time." As this new vision for Skull & Bones became clearer, "fresh eyes have joined the team" to help make it into a reality. Not only that, as Ubisoft Berlin, Chengdu, Kiev, Paris, and the Philippines are also working hard on helping this game become what the team knows it can be. While Skull & Bones may not appear at the next Ubisoft Forward, it will be having its "comeback next year." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=skull-bones-e3-2017-reveal-trailer-stills&captions=true"] This news follows previous reports that Skull & Bones was being rebooted with a "live" game model with ongoing storytelling inspired by Fortnite. Furthermore, it was said that it was also shifting away from the "premium box model" used by most of Ubisoft's AAA franchises like Assassin's Creed and The Division. Skull & Bones was revealed during E3 2017, and was originally going to allow players to captain their own pirate ship in 1721 in a world that was shaped by the player community and the pirate gangs they form. It was scheduled for a release date of Fall 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/06/13/skull-and-bones-gameplay-demo-ign-live-e3-2018"] You can read Elisabeth Pellen's full statement here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

No More Heroes 3 has been delayed to 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused "unforeseen delays in development." No More Heroes series director Goichi 'Suda51' Suda of Grasshopper Manufacture took to Twitter to explain the delay and apologize to fans for the lack of news ever since "the reveal of the trailer for No More Heroes 3 at [The Game Awards] at the end of 2019." While the pandemic has impacted the project, Suda did say that the team has "managed to get back on our feet with development" and that their main focus now is "prioritizing quality." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/11/no-more-heroes-3-announcement-trailer-e3-2019"] It wasn't all bad news, however, as he revealed that Darick Robertson, a comic book illustrator who co-created The Boys, will be joining the team working on No More Heroes 3 to "provide illustrations for the game." Suda shared a commissioned piece by Darick Robertson on Twitter, called "Demzamtiger & His Master," and you can check it out below. No More Heroes 3, a Nintendo Switch exclusive, was unveiled during Nintendo's E3 2019 Direct, and the initial trailer showed Travis Touchdown and his beam katana back in action once more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=no-more-heroes-3-screenshots&captions=true"] At the New Game Plus Expo 2020, we got a glimpse of No More Heroes 3 gameplay, but it was mostly covered by Suda's head. You can read Suda's full statement here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

On this week's episode of Podcast Beyond!, IGN's PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano for an episode even Pepe Silvia would marvel at. The duo discusses what Sony's next movies should and could be for the PS5 following Xbox's Series X and Series S announcements, including when and what Sony might do when it comes to PS5 price, preorders, launch lineup, and games in 2020. Watch the new episode below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/ps5-ps4s-big-late-2020-games-and-mysteries-beyond-episode-665"] Plus, the duo looks ahead at the big games still to come for the PS4, and the PS5's launch window, in 2020 and beyond (BEYOND!), and Jonathon talks himself into three different arguments for and against PS5 launch dates. Have questions, comments, Memory Card stories, or something else to share? Write in to beyond@ign.com! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-playstation-exclusive-from-sonys-ps5-event&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, and an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=69b78282-68da-4fe6-a96e-c96b5f31d8c5"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

It's that time fo the year again and with so many stuck inside this season, what better way to spend your time than binging through Netflix's latest Halloween offerings. The streaming service is promoting 23 new spooky and Halloween-themed titles to watch throughout the chilly season. Netflix has already released some of these titles with more dropping each week leading up to Halloween. Check out the 23 titles below to see what awaits you on Netflix in the coming weeks. Netflix has also provided us with a synopsis for each of these upcoming titles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] #Alive (Now Streaming) - Netflix Film Synopsis: Oh Jun-u wakes up and finds a note from his mom that says his family went on vacation without him. He turns on the TV and the news anchor says that an outbreak is spreading nationwide, with the infected showing signs of cannibalism. Suddenly wifi is disconnected and what Jun-u can only hear is his father’s message that he must stay alive. The world goes crazy and everything is destroyed by the zombies. After more than 15 days without any social connection, Jun-u notices a laser beam coming from outside of his balcony window. Kim Yu-bin who lives on the other side of the apartment complex is the one with the laser pointer. They try to communicate using hand signals, determined to find ways to escape from an apartment complex which is now full of zombies. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (Sept. 10) - Netflix Film  Synopsis: Two years after defeating a satanic cult led by his babysitter Bee, Cole continues to be haunted by the horrific events of that night. Everyone in his life thinks he has lost his mind since Bee and all of her friends disappeared, making Cole’s story hard to believe. He is still hopelessly smitten with his best friend and next-door neighbor Melanie – the only one who believes his story  – who convinces him to forget the past and come to a party thrown at a nearby lake. But when old enemies unexpectedly return, Cole will once again have to outsmart the forces of evil and survive the night. The Paramedic (Sept. 16) - Netflix Film Synopsis: After an accident leaves him confined to a wheelchair and wallowing in depression unable to face his new life, Angel decides to channel his rage, getting even with those who, in his eyes, has betrayed him. Particularly the woman who left him when he needed her the most. The Binding (Oct. 2) - Netflix Film Synopsis: While visiting her fiancé's mother in southern Italy, a woman must fight the mysterious and malevolent curse intent on claiming her daughter. Vampires vs. The Bronx (Oct. 2) - Netflix Film Synopsis: A group of young friends from the Bronx fight to save their neighborhood from a band of vampires. Hubie Halloween (Oct. 7) - Netflix Film Synopsis: Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) thanklessly spends every Halloween making sure the residents of his hometown, Salem, celebrate safely and play by the rules. But this year, an escaped criminal and a mysterious new neighbor have Hubie on high alert. When people start disappearing, it’s up to Hubie to convince the police (Kevin James, Kenan Thompson) and townsfolk that the monsters are real, and only he can stop them. Hubie Halloween is a hilarious family film about an unlikely hero with an all-star cast including Julie Bowen, Ray Liotta, Noah Schnapp, Steve Buscemi, and Maya Rudolph, produced by Happy Madison. A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (Oct. 14) - Netflix Film Synopsis: When high school freshman Kelly Ferguson (Tamara Smart) reluctantly agrees to babysit Jacob Zellman (Ian Ho) on Halloween, the last thing she expects is to be recruited into an international secret society of babysitters who protect kids with special powers from monsters. To keep Jacob safe from harm, Kelly teams with no-nonsense chapter Vice President Liz Lerue (Oona Laurence), tech genius Berna Vincent (Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson), creature expert Cassie Zhen (Lynn Masako Cheng), and potions master Curtis Critter (Ty Consiglio) to defeat a Boogeyman known as "The Grand Guignol" (Tom Felton), a glamorous witch named "Peggy Drood" (Indya Moore) and their legion of mysterious monsters. Based on the first installment of Joe Ballarini's popular scary book series of the same name,  A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is directed by Rachel Talalay, produced by Ivan Reitman and Amie Karp, with Naia Cucukov, Tom Pollock, and Ilona Herzberg executive producing. Alessio Scalzotto, Tamsen McDonough, Ashton Arbab, Crystal Balint, and Ricky He also co-stars in this action-packed adventure about working together to overcome your fears. Rebecca (Oct. 21) - Netflix Films Synopsis: After a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo with handsome widower Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), a newly married young woman (Lily James) arrives at Manderley, her new husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast. Naive and inexperienced, she begins to settle into the trappings of her new life but finds herself battling the shadow of Maxim’s first wife, the elegant and urbane Rebecca, whose haunting legacy is kept alive by Manderley’s sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas). Directed by Ben Wheatley (High Rise, Free Fire) and produced by Working Title Films (Emma, Darkest Hour), REBECCA is a mesmerizing and gorgeously rendered psychological thriller based on Daphne du Maurier’s beloved 1938 gothic novel. Cadaver (Oct. 22) - Netflix Film Synopsis: Cadaver is a Norwegian psychological horror film that takes us on a journey where humanity is being put to a test and stars among others Gitte Witt, Thorbjørn Harr, Thomas Gullestad) and Kingsford Siayor. In the starving aftermath of a nuclear disaster, Leonora (Gitte Witt), Jacob (Thomas Gullestad), and their daughter Alice (Tuva Olivia Remman) are on the edge of survival. One day, the local hotel invites survivors to attend a theatre play, with a meal included, as a charitable effort to help those in need. Left with no choice, the family of three decide to go to the hotel, where the director, Mathias (Thorbjørn Harr), introduces the entire hotel as the stage. Attendees are given masks to help separate them from actors, but the play takes an eerie turn when audience members start to disappear. The line between reality and theatre quickly gets blurred, until Alice disappears in front of Leo and Jacob, and there’s no longer room for doubt: Something is very wrong with Mathias’ hotel. Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight (Oct. 28) - Netflix Film Synopsis: Addicted to technology, a group of teens attends a rehabilitation camp in the forest, but a sinister force there intends to take them offline forever. From 1-2-3 Production. His House (Oct. 30) - Netflix Film Synopsis: After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggles to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface. The Day of the Lord (Oct. 30) - Netflix Film Synopsis: 

Menéndez is a retired priest who lives in his dark and ruinous apartment turning his back on the world. He suffers from a crisis of faith and is haunted by horrible nightmares and acts of his past that torture him.

One day, he receives the visit from Sebastián, an old friend who knows Menéndez’s past business. He claims his daughter is possessed by the devil and begs for Menéndez's help to exorcise her, although he’s well aware of the aggressive methods the priest uses.

Pushed by Sebastián's insistence and his inner conflict, Menéndez takes this case as a chance for redemption. He has a new goal in life but is she really possessed or will she suffer a senseless torture?

Ratched (Sept. 18) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: From Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, RATCHED is a suspenseful drama series that tells the origin story of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched. In 1947, Mildred arrives in Northern California to seek employment at a leading psychiatric hospital where new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind. On a clandestine mission, Mildred presents herself as the perfect image of what a dedicated nurse should be, but the wheels are always turning and as she begins to infiltrate the mental health care system and those within it, Mildred’s stylish exterior belies a growing darkness that has long been smoldering within, revealing that true monsters are made, not born.

Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood (Oct. 1) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: 1900: A rich newcomer with a shady past arrives in Munich determined to crash the local Oktoberfest with his own brewery. But when his daughter falls in love with the heir to a rival brewery, a violent chain of events is unleashed that will threaten both families’ futures.

To the Lake (Oct. 7) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: Facing the end of civilization when a terrifying plague strikes, a group risks their lives, loves — and humanity — in a brutal struggle to survive. From Akson Studio.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (Oct. 9) - Netflix Original Series

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/31/netflixs-the-haunting-of-bly-manor-teaser-trailer"]

Synopsis: From The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy comes THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR, the next highly-anticipated chapter of The Haunting anthology series, set in 1980s England. After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) hires a young American nanny (Victoria Pedretti) to care for his orphaned niece and nephew (Amelie Bea Smith, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) who reside at Bly Manor with the estate’s chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (T’Nia Miller). But all is not as it seems at the manor, and centuries of dark secrets of love and loss are waiting to be unearthed in this chilling gothic romance. At Bly Manor, dead doesn’t mean gone.

La Révolution (Sometime in October) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: 1787, France. While investigating a series of mysterious murders, Joseph Guillotin - the future inventor of the world-famous ‘Guillotine’ - uncovers an unknown virus: the Blue Blood. The disease, quickly spreads amongst the French aristocracy, driving them to murder ordinary people and soon leads to a rebellion… What if the French Revolution didn’t happen the way we were told?

Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2 (Oct. 19) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: In six new episodes, Unsolved Mysteries profiles more unexplained disappearances, tragic events, and bizarre occurrences.  Perhaps one viewer holds the key to solving these cases. Detectives, journalists, and family members offer intriguing theories in this gripping series, from the creators of the original docuseries, Cosgrove/Meurer Productions, and 21 Laps Entertainment, the producers of Stranger Things.

The Worst Witch: Season 4 (Oct. 1) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: A series of challenges push Mildred and Ethel's magical powers to the limit as they compete for the honor of being named Head Girl.

A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween (Oct. 2) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: Cory, Chrissy, and Freddie are on the hunt for king-sized candy bars this Halloween! But are all the treats worth the trek to the spooky side of town?

StarBeam: Halloween Hero (Oct. 6) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: Greedy Captain Fishbeard is stealing everybody's Halloween treats for himself, but StarBeam and Boost have some tricks up their sleeves to save the day!

Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters (Oct. 9) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: Super Monsters visit Vida's home town for a Dia De Los Muertos parade where they meet some new Super Monsters.

The Last Kids on Earth: Book 3 (Oct. 16) - Netflix Original Series

Synopsis: As the four pals continue to live it up with their monster allies, Jack worries a newly discovered radio transmitter may put an end to the fun.

Other titles include:

• Available Oct. 1: A.M.I., Cape Fear, Evil: Season 1, House of 1,000 Corpses, We Have Always Lived in the Castle
• Available Oct. 16: Unfriended
• Available Oct. 18: ParaNorman

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Ryan Reynolds is known for a lot of things. He's Deadpool, he made that Green Lantern movie years ago, he's the voice of Pikachu, and he's one of the main reasons people probably know about cellphone service company Mint Mobile. He can now add "person able to coax actors out of retirement" to his resume as well after bringing comedy legend Rick Moranis out of his acting retirement for the latest Mint Mobile commercial.

Today @Mintmobile is launching unlimited for just $30 AND bringing back Rick Moranis. Suck it, 2020. pic.twitter.com/N1sl7mYchF

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 9, 2020

"It's hard to believe that Mint Mobile has gone so long without an unlimited plan so to introduce it, we brought in an actor that we've all gone too long without: Rick Moranis," Reynolds says before the famed actor steps onto the screen. Moranis plays into this and asks Reynolds what he wants him to do and it's at this point that Reynolds reveals he's brought him out of retirement because he's just a huge fan like the rest of us. Moranis leaves the commercial just as quickly as he walked on and the video ends with a quick slide showing Mint Mobile's actual reason for the commercial: its new unlimited plan. Does maybe 5 seconds of this video revolve around the actual unlimited service plan? Yes. Does the other 35 seconds focus on Moranis? Yes, and we are all very thankful for it. Perhaps Moranis enjoyed this job enough that he'll return to acting but chances are he won't as Moranis has been pretty good at actually staying retired. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/12/history-of-awesome-1989"] We do, at least, know that he's coming out of retirement for some time in the future to appear in Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel. For more Moranis, check out our list of the best 1980s movies streaming on Netflix, of which Moranis is featured in some, and then check out what we think the 10 best '80s action movies are. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Feast your eyes on these beautiful images from director Denis Villeneuve's long-awaited screen adaptation of the seminal sci-fi saga.

AMD has announced plans for two October showcases, including one to reveal the next generation of AMD GPUs. On October 28 at 12 pm ET/9 am PT, AMD will hold a showing for the Next Generation Radeon Graphics, with the company inviting viewers "to learn more about our RDNA 2 architecture, Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards, and our deep collaboration with game developers and ecosystem partners who will help us bring the best of Radeon to gamers." That RDNA 2 architecture is something that's set to be used in both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, with both consoles promising a custom version of the RDNA 2 GPU. And earlier in the month, on October 8 at 12 pm ET/9 am PT, AMD will showcase its Next generation Ryzen Desktop Processors, "the next wave of Ryzen desktop processors with 'Zen 3' architecture, taking our PC gaming and content creation leadership to new heights. AMD will continue the recent trend of showcasing what the future of gaming will deliver, following the reveal of Nvidia's RTX 30 series graphics cards. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/01/nvidia-rtx-3080-reveal-trailer"] And when it comes to next-gen consoles, we analyzed whether Xbox Series X's price makes sense for the included specs, and taken a look at the Xbox Seres S specs. [poilib element="accentDivider"]  

Today, Activision revealed details for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. A lot of details. The publisher covered everything from different multiplayer modes, character customizations, loadout, and more. Check below for the full briefing on the upcoming Call of Duty multiplayer. The multiplayer mode will have its own story elements based on history. Players will personalize their clandestine operators including their classified past. Operators can join a variety of active Cold War organizations including the CIA, MI6, KGB, and more. The multiplayer narrative is set years after the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War campaign’s story. The campaign itself is a direct sequel to the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-campaign-screenshots&captions=true"]

• Cold War Globetrotting: There is a wide range of locales from around the world from the contested waters of the Black Sea, searing Angola deserts, urban Moscow, and the neon-soaked streets of Miami’s South Beach.
• All-new Modes: New modes such as the 6v6 VIP Escort operations, 12v12 Combined Arms battles, and the 40-player, objective-based Fireteam.
• Fireteam: 10 teams in squads of four face off in large-scale maps that include land, sea, and air vehicles, all while completing various objects. This sandbox-style multiplayer mode allows teams to complete missions as they see fit. The first Fireteam game type is called Dirty Bomb.
• The Fireteam Spawn system lets players respawn in different ways, either by spawning onto a teammate not in combat, parachuting back into the map, or spawning directly into the passenger seat of a teammate’s vehicle.
• Maps will range from the three-lane map design to open combat space to large-scale maps that combine infantry and vehicular combat.

  Signature Combat  

• Tools of the Tradecraft: Black Ops Cold War will have iconic weapons from the 1980s that will cater to Black Ops’ fast and fluid gameplay.
• Create-a-Class has been simplified with a new slog-based loadout system that offers better flexibility for players. There are also four new Wildcards to enhance the customization depth.
• Gunsmith now offers 54 attachments per weapon across 8 attach points on primary weapons. You can now equip up to 8 attachments at once with a certain Wildcard selected.
• In-game weapon stats lets players create their own weapon through unique stats that now show +/- percentage changes in attachment stats.
• Scorestreak System: Scores are no longer lost on death and players can earn score multipliers for stringing together multiple kills in a single life. Objectives will also count towards your score, and each Scorestreak goes on cooldown after use to prevent spamming.
• New vehicles for Land, Sea, and Air such as Snowmobiles, Dirt Bikes, Gunboats, Wakerunners, FAV buggies, attack helicopters, and tanks.
• Perks return with new and fan-favorite options like Spycraft, Gearhead, Ninja, Ghost, Engineer, and more.
• Time-to-kill has been tuned to ensure gun skill is a top skill to have in multiplayer.
• Unlimited spring and auto-regen for more focus on gameplay.
• Sprints will automatically begin with a small burst of speed that settles into normal spring speed. Sliding will also transition to a crouched position to promote fluid movement.
• Mini-map displays non-suppressed fire on the map for all players.
• Zipline from one objective area to another, or rappel up an elevated position.

  Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will also support both cross-gen and cross-play so players can party up with teammates across different systems, console generations, and PC. Free post-launch content will add new multiplayer maps and modes, and a Battle Pass system will ensure there will be regular rewards. As previously announced, Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer and Warzone will share a "progression journey" that will add inventory items for both titles, and even share post-launch content “from a narrative standpoint, interweaving the themes, locations, weapons, and vehicles of Black Ops Cold War into the Warzone action.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/01/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-rtx-on-trailer"] Next-gen Features and New Multiplayer Systems  

• Black Ops Cold War features 4K visuals for next-gen consoles and PC.
• Next-Gen 3D Audio on next-gen platforms and PC that creates a more realistic soundscape.
• Threat Priority System: A new “Threat Priority” audio system dynamically assigns priorities to various sounds during a firefight.
• Directional Ballistics: A new method to integrate “bullet crack” (the sonic boom created by a bullet traveling faster than the speed of sound). This system communicates to players when they are in danger, their distance from an attacker, and the angle of incoming shots.
• Authentic Acoustics: Complete acoustic model provides detailed occlusion and reverb for an authentic sound on all platforms.
• Contour Terrain Tech: New custom terrain lets developers create larger, more immersive play spaces.
• 120Hz support for next-gen consoles.
• Hardware-based raytracing on next-gen consoles, and DirectX raytracing on PC.
• Haptic feedback on PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/27/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-perseus-briefing-cinematic"] For more, check out IGN's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer preview. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The first trailer for Dune has now been released, giving us our first look at the grand science-fiction movie in a little of its full glory. In addition to seeing this footage, IGN was also able to attend an online Q&A session with the cast and director, who revealed - in their own words - the personalities, motivations, and themes at play in this new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s beloved novel. Director Denis Villeneuve, in his classic style, opted to shoot Dune on location rather than on green screen digital sets. That meant transporting his cast and crew to the deserts of Jordan, where they endured heat and sand. This helped lead actor Timothée Chalamet bring the character of Paul Atreides to life, who travels from the oceanic planet of Caladan to the unfamiliar desert world of Arrakis. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-images&captions=true"] “There's a real temptation to at least talk pretentiously about method acting, and your environment affecting you, and you broke your leg so now you did a great job,” Chalamet said. “But when you're shooting in the desert in Jordan, the spirituality of the location … you're really in it. You feel the environment.” That “spirituality” of the desert links to Dune’s ecological message. Leading those ideas is the character of Stilgar, leader of the Fremen people who call Arrakis home, played by Javier Bardem. “He is a leader, he is a fighter, he has a lot of ethics and morals,” Barden explained. “[The Fremen] are protecting their environment and their planet from the abuse that is being taken. So there is a lot of ethics and morality, and also environmental thinking in their ways.” (Aarakis is mined for ‘spice’, a resource that allows ship navigators to plot interstellar travel routes, and so is similar to our own modern-day issues with fossil fuels.) [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/dune-director-explains-why-his-adaptation-will-be-split-across-two-movies-ign-news] Alongside the ecological parallels, Chalamet notes that there’s also similarities to be drawn between Dune’s world - in which some humans are trained to peak mental ability in order to work as computers instead of using actual machines - and our reliance on technology. “There's a lot of contemporary metaphors you could make with social media, the technology, the times,” he said. “But we are in the antithesis of that philosophy of Dune, in some way, where you have a cast of characters, of families and warring houses, that are absent of technology... So that was thrilling from an acting point of view, too, because it was more like real life or something.” Linking the people of Arrakis to their new rulers, the Atreides, is the character Dr. Liet-Kynes, an Imperial liaison between all parties who works on behalf of the intergalactic Padishah Empire. “He connects all the dots,” said Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who plays a female version of the character in the film. “He connects the Harkonnens, he connects House Atreides, he connects the Fremen, and Arrakis, the sandworms. This is somebody who understands all these worlds and moves in between each and every one, seemingly with one agenda.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-every-actor-in-the-sci-fi-reboot&captions=true"] As for the character’s alteration from book to screen, Duncan-Brewster noted that Villeneuve was more interested in the character’s thematic role than their gender identity. “As far as Denis was concerned, it was all about concentrating on the essence of this person. Not the fact that this person was a man. So that's what we went with first.” Leading House Atreides, the family newly appointed as stewards of Aarakis, is Duke Leto Atreides, the father of Paul and played by Oscar Isaac. “He's got all the qualities of, I think, what the epitome of what a father should be,” Isaacs said. “He's noble, and House Atreides is a noble house,” he added. “And by that I mean structurally. It's in this universe, it's what everything else is a reference to. Either as an enemy or an ally. But it's the beacon of ethics and higher consciousness, which is what's been the struggle since this technological dystopian future that they've kind of made their way out of.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-how-the-movies-have-depicted-the-iconic-stillsuit-costume&captions=true"] Duke Leto’s partner is Lady Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson. Of her character, Ferguson said: “her decisions basically create fracture and disrupts everything.” Those who have read the book will already know quite how far those disruptions go. Isaac and Ferguson are joined by numerous high-ranking members of the house, including Josh Brolin’s weapons master, Gurney Halleck. “He is like a great, dichotomous character, because he's this great kind of Braveheart warrior,” said Brolin. “But at the same time, has a love of poetry and kind of heart, and there's a softness to him. So it's a great dichotomous character. It was fun to play.” Then there’s Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, the family swordmaster. “I kind of look at myself as the servant to the Atreides,” said Momoa. “You know, he's the samurai, he's the frontline. He's trusted by the Duke to be sent into Arrakis and meet Stilgar. And combine two worlds together. And at the root of it, he just would do anything to protect Paul and the family of Atreides.” For more, be sure to see our story where Dune director Denis Villeneuve explains the meaning and themes of his sci-fi epic, as well as him talking about how he designed the iconic sandworms that roam Arrakis’ deserts. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Note: IGN screened an extended, press-only version of the Dune trailer launch Q&A that included additional quotes from the cast and director. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Dune director Denis Villeneuve was the same age as the story’s 15-year-old protagonist Paul Atreides when he first read Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel. Villeneuve devoured the first book and went on to read the entire series. “I became obsessed by it,” said Villeneuve, whose passion for Dune arrived at the same time as he first dreamed about making films. “I felt that it had a massive potential on the screen.” Now, decades later, Denis Villeneuve’s realization of his lifelong obsession to adapt Dune as a film is almost finished. The first trailer for Dune was released Wednesday, providing viewers with their best look yet at Villeneuve’s interpretation. During a trailer launch Q&A with host Stephen Colbert, another huge fan of Herbert’s books, Villeneuve shed light on what makes Dune unique among sci-fi sagas and what the story and his screen adaptation are really about beyond giant sandworms and space spice.

What Is Dune About?

As a teen reading the book for the first time, Villeneuve was “craving” for “deep human adventure” and found it within the pages of Dune. “It was a very powerful, human story.” But, over the years, Villeneuve has appreciated the multiple levels Herbert’s story works on: “At its core, Dune is, you can see it from an angle as a simple adventure, powerful but simple epic adventure story. But it has so many roots in so many things. That is why it makes the books so rich. And we tried to keep that richness in the movies. So it's always tricky to choose one word or one specific theme because it has so many elements. But I would say that you could say it's that humans, we need to earn our destiny in order to change the world. And it's something for me, the movie's a kind of a call for action, for us to change things. Specifically for the youth. And that's what I would say, yeah. A movie about fate and destiny.” Villeneuve says Dune’s sci-fi and fantasy elements are “background” in his story, with the film focusing on “the human journey” at the heart of Paul Atreides’ transformation from a young aristocrat into a revered warrior-prophet.”That's what makes Dune so unique. It's, at the end of the day, it's a great human story. The technological elements are there in the background.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-images&captions=true"] Oscar Isaac, who plays the noble Duke Leto Atreides I, father of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul, agrees with that grounded, relatable assessment. For Isaac, Dune is ultimately about “the clash of cultures and tribes. And the vast cultural history of humanity. And I think that's what Frank Herbert was really interested in. And so, this has a lot more to do with human tribes than it has to do with alien species.”

Why Dune Was Split Into Two Movies

But as intimate and human as Dune is, it takes place on a vast universe populated with many complex characters and story threads. That’s why one of Villeneuve’s conditions for production company Legendary Pictures, when he agreed to direct Dune, was that it be split into two films. “It's completely natural for us as screenwriters to break the story in two parts,” Villeneuve explained. “But the movie itself has its own arc, it is totally sustained itself as one journey. But to tell the [whole] story, we needed two movies.” [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/15/dune-director-explains-why-his-adaptation-will-be-split-across-two-movies-ign-news]

Who Are the Bad Guys in Dune?

One of the many rich yet complicated aspects of Dune is the vicious dynamic between the rival Great Houses that control politics, wealth, and power in the Galactic Padishah Empire. In a nutshell, Duke Leto’s House Atreides are the good guys and House Harkonnen -- led by Stellan Skarsgård’s Baron Vladimir Harkonnen -- are the bad guys. For Villeneuve, distilling such complex maneuvering down into an understandable subplot for this first movie proved “a challenge,” but he cited one particular cast member as his “secret weapon” for making it work. “The politics of Dune is quite interesting and we try to keep it as simple as possible, keeping how rich it is. That was a challenge. I will say that my secret weapon for that was Stellan Skarsgård,” Villeneuve explained. The morbidly obese Baron Harkonnen is strapped into “suspensors” in order for him to be able to move (or, more precisely, float), which lent itself to how Villeneuve could depict the power dynamics between the Baron and other characters. “Because you put Stellan with the way we designed the Baron and we shoot him after five seconds onscreen, people will understand right away with is his position regarding the Atreides and the difference of moral values between the Atreides and the Harkonnens. So, frankly, I use the full power of cinema in order to bring that tension alive.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-every-actor-in-the-sci-fi-reboot&captions=true"]

Dune's Desert Planet: Where Was Dune Shot?

In addition to demanding that Dune be split into two movies, Villeneuve‘s other condition when signing with Legendary was to film the scenes set on the planet Arrakis in a real desert. (The movie was partially shot in Jordan.) Beyond just giving his actors a tangible environment to respond to and the camera a real-world to capture -- “My argument was that they didn't shoot Jaws in a swimming pool” -- Villeneuve said filming in an actual desert was also key to conveying one of the main components of Frank Herbert’s novel and its environmentalist themes. “Dune is about [an] ecosystem. At the very core, what I deeply love about Dune is [the] exploration of life and the ecosystem and biosphere,” the director explained. “And all the science that Frank Herbert put behind that, it's so beautiful, it's so poetic. I think that in order to bring Dune to the screen, I needed to be as close to nature as possible.” Barring any pandemic-related postponement, Dune arrives in theaters this December. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-how-the-movies-have-depicted-the-iconic-stillsuit-costume&captions=true"]