The acquisition opens the door to the development and production of new film and television projects set on Arrakis. Dune has previously been adapted into the cult favorite 1984 film directed by David Lynch and a three-part television miniseries that first aired on Syfy in 2000. A television miniseries sequel to the latter, Children of Dune, debuted on Syfy in 2003.

Herbert’s intricate novel has proven difficult to adapt, with Lynch’s vision diverging significantly from the source material, and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 attempt at an adaptation failing so spectacularly that it inspired a 2013 French documentary entitled Jodorowsky’s Dune. Syfy’s adaptations were more faithful, but they too fell short of capturing the complex universe Herbert created in his novel.

Paramount was the last studio attached to Dune, ending their efforts to make a new film version of the novel in 2011 (see “Paramount Ends 'Dune' Efforts”)