Timothee Chalamet's Dune is out in cinemas now, with a sequel now confirmed. And with such incredible scenery and set design, viewers want to know where it was filmed.
Dune is a sci-fi epic based on the novels of the same name by Frank Herbert. Timothee Chalamet stars as the film's main protagonist, Paul Atreides, who embarks upon a dangerous journey across the galaxy to ensure the future of his family and people.
The movie contains plenty of stunning out-of-this-world backdrops and you'll be pleased to know it isn't all green screened. Here are some of the breathtaking, other-worldly locations which were used to film Dune.
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Related: The Six Stunning Locations Where 'No Time To Die' Was Filmed
Stadlandet, Norway
This island in Western Norway provides the backdrop for the planet Caladan in the first part of Dune. It's also featured in the trailer.
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Located in Vestland County, this rugged peninsula is considered the division point between the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea to the south. It's cold (never reaching above 15 degrees celsius in the summer), isolated, and therefore very other-worldy - especially when Timothee Chalament is standing on its beach dressed head-to-toe in a futuristic, black ensemble which resembles what Neo wore in The Matrix.
Wadi Rum, Jordan
Unsplash/Juli Kosolapova)
Known as 'the Valley of the Moon,' there's nowhere more fitting than Jordan's Wadi Rum to shoot a sci-fi movie. Its signature red sands and mountains resemble the surface of Mars, which is why countless sci-fi movies, among other genres, have been filmed there.
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The dream-like landscape has provided a backdrop for Star Wars: The Rise Of Luke Skywalker and The Martian, to name just a couple of examples. But the film which put Wadi Rum on the map for the tourism industry all the way back in the 1960s was Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
In Dune, Wadi Rum provides the backdrop for the planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), which is where the final scenes of the movie take place.
Dune certainly isn't the first, or the last, movie to be filmed there and in fact the film's director, Denis Villeneuve, used this location for his 2010 movie Incendies.
The Empty Quarter, UAE
Unsplash/Tanja Cotoaga)
The next location for Dune lies just across the border from Wadi Rum - in the Empty Quarter (aka Rub' al Khali), which is the largest sand desert region in the world.
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This vast area of land stretches 250,000 square miles across the south of the Arabian Peninsula, covering parts of Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Empty Quarter is home to the world's largest sand dune - Tel Moreeb, which translates to Terrifying Mountain - quite a fitting name at over 300m high.
The Empty Quarter, including Tel Moreeb, was used for yet more scenes on Arrakis in Dune. Timothee Chalamet recalled: "I remember going out of my room at 2am, and it being probably 100 degrees... The shooting temperature was sometimes 120 degrees. They put a cap on it out there, if it gets too hot. I forget what the exact number is, but you can't keep working."
Budapest, Hungary
Unsplash/Ervin Lukacs)
Budapest is another place that Villeneuve has been to before. Parts of Blade Runner 2049 were shot in the Hungarian capital.
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Parts of Dune were filmed at the Origo Film Studios there, which is one of Europe's largest film studios and rivals Hollywood in terms of facilities.
Film enthusiasts are able to visit the Origo Studios while staying in Budapest, a historic eastern European city which is as picturesque as it is cultural, with its stunning architecture, bordering hills and bustling riverside.
Dune was released in UK cinemas on Thursday 21st October 2021.Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@joakimvedvik/Warner BrosTopics: TV and Film, travel