Dune (franchise)

Considered the world’s best-selling science fiction novel, Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) created a franchise that now includes comics, video games, television shows, and films—and continues to challenge and inspire generations of creators and audiences.

With more than two dozen prequels and sequels, Dune tells the story of an interstellar empire tens of thousands of years in the future. Vital to this empire is the desert planet Arrakis, the only known source of the spice melange, which is the most valuable substance in the universe. Control of Arrakis, its spice production, and the combined impact on humanity's development form the axis of a millennia-long conflict that develops throughout the series.

Ambitious screen adaptations include the 1984 film by David Lynch and the John Harrison turn-of-the-millennium TV miniseries. Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic reimagining brought Dune back to the screen in 2021.

Frank Herbert’s original book was honored with the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966. It was praised by The New Yorker as "an epic of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship, and messianic deliverance." The novel has been translated into dozens of languages and sold roughly 20 million copies.