Legendary horror author Stephen King took to Twitter to offer his thoughts about the latest film adaptation of the classic science-fiction epic, Dune, which hit theaters and HBO Max late last week.
King didn’t go into too many specifics regarding his thoughts on the film, but said it was “really good” and offered one surprising take. Namely, he expressed disbelief, via Twitter, that special effects could be so good while humans are still unable to achieve world peace.
The new Dune adaptation has received generally favorable reviews from critics and hit the ground running with a strong opening of $40.1 million in North America, the biggest debut yet in the career of director Denis Villeneuve whose other work includes Bladerunner 2049, Arrival, and Sicario.
Dune is based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert of the same name and similarly follows the family of Duke Leto Atreides as they accept an imperial decree to take control of the planet Arrakis from the brutal and warlike House Harkonnen.
Arrakis is home to the indigenous tribes of Fremen as well as an incredibly valuable resource known as the spice which powers interstellar travel, in addition to acting as a psychedelic drug that gives users the power of foresight. The film is part one of a two-part adaptation of Herbert’s first novel and Villeneuve has expressed interest in eventually adapting the second novel, Dune Messiah, to round out a trilogy of films if the first film is successful.
Dune opened on Oct. 22 and stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, and Jason Momoa.