Dune first look shows Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides before the desert

UPDATE: More first-look photos were released via Vanity Fair on Tuesday, showing Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and more.

EARLIER: Dune, the classic science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert, has a reputation for being a challenging read. However, anyone who's made it even a little bit into Dune knows that the title refers to the planet at the center of the plot. Technically known as Arrakis, this planet is almost entirely harsh desert and far more often referred to in-universe as "Dune" for its distinctive geographic feature. Paul Atreides, played by Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming film adaptation, is destined to change the fate of Arrakis forever. But as the first image from director Denis Villeneuve's Dune film makes clear, Paul was not born on Arrakis.

The noble Atreides family instead hails from the planet Caladan, the exact opposite of Arrakis in almost every way. It is a world of greenery, oceans, and rain; memories of it haunt Paul and his family throughout Dune as they struggle with the hellish conditions of Arrakis. On Monday, Vanity Fair published a first photo from the upcoming Dune movie featuring Chalamet's Paul standing on a Caladan beach.

His eyes are downcast, perhaps because his family is departing this paradise world under less-than-ideal conditions. They have been given Arrakis, which despite its harsh features is extremely valuable as the universe's only source of a special spice called "melange," to rule in the name of the Padishah Emperor. But until now Arrakis has been controlled by the Atreides' mortal enemies, the Harkonnens, and Paul and his father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), are smart enough to realize that this is only the latest development in a long power struggle.

Dune has been adapted for film once before, by David Lynch in 1984 with mixed results. The new adaptation, directed by Villeneuve, is planned for release later this year (though coronavirus is changing everything). Check out the new photo below.

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