Remake Watch: Dune

You've probably heard it already. There's going to be a new film version of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel. But we're not quite sure whether it's going to be a remake of David Lynch's cult favourite 1984 version, or the 2000 TV series (which was incredibly boring), or a whole new film based on the book. As if there's a difference.

I was a huge fan of Lynch's film, despite all its shortcomings. I was also rather obsessed with the book series at one time. Lynch's version was visually imaginative, but it's been an extremely long time since I've seen it, so I don't know if my opinion would change now.

When I first heard that Peter Berg would direct the new film, the first thing that came to my mind was "Who the heck is that?!"

Berg, as it turns out, was the guy who directed The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights and The Rundown. Some people have called him "the new Michael Bay."

Whatever it is, Berg has got to top the casting of Sting as the menacing nephew of Baron Harkonnen. You can't possibly get any more cyberpunk than Sting in black leather.

And then, there's the problem of who rules the future universe. Could there be a name change in the pipeline? Because the year in Dune is 10191, and the known universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV.