Dune fans have been given an even closer look at Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming remake. A new series of images debuted by Vanity Fair show off the barren desert world of Arrakis and the “stillsuits” its inhabitants rely on to survive its extreme heat. These stillsuits are one of the most iconic elements of the original novel, and it’s exciting to see them brought to life in a new form.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the stillsuits in live-action. Read on for an explanation of why these costumes are so important and how the new movie compares to past Dune adaptations.
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What Is a Stillsuit?
The planet Arrakis is easily one of the most inhospitable places in the universe. Picture an even hotter version of Tatooine and you get some idea of what it’s like to live on a world dominated by extreme heat and and roving sandworms and where few inhabitants have ever seen rain. If it wasn’t for the fact that Arrakis is the only major source of the all-important spice known as melange, there’d be no point to colonizing such a dangerous planet.
Stillsuits are basically necessities for anyone who hopes to survive outside the heavily fortified capitol city. These form-fitting suits are designed to protect the wearer from the sun and sand while conserving as much moisture as humanly possible. Everything from sweat to urine to breath is collected, filtered and deposited into pockets the wearer can drink from. It’s not pretty (and the book makes it clear these suits don’t exactly smell great, either), but it’s the only way to retain water in the open desert. The stillsuits designed by the native Fremen population are considered to be the best, as it’s said they’re able to recycle all but “a thimbleful” of water per day.
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How the Remake Adapts the Stillsuit
Author Frank Herbert never really offered a clear idea of what these suits actually look like, so the various adaptations have tended to offer differing takes. The new movie seems to be sticking fairly close to the example set by David Lynch’s 1984 movie. In that movie, designer Bob Ringwood depicted the stillsuit with a very organic design dominated by a tube-like texture. Though colored a deep black, the suits resemble nothing if not a skinless human body.
The remake’s stillsuits have a very similar organic quality. The main difference is that they’re slightly lighter in tone (a more stealthy dark gray than full black) and covered in pieces of what looks to be armored padding. Some of the new images show characters like Javier Bardem’s Stilgar wearing turbans and shrouds, likely a nod to the idea that the Fremen are meant to be distant descendants of nomadic Bedouin tribes from Earth.
The 2000 TV miniseries took a different approach to the stillsuits. There, the suits are simpler in texture and design, less form-fitting and also colored a more unassuming green shade.
All of these takes stand in stark contrast to the concept art of Jean “Moebius” Giraud, who worked on director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s canceled Dune adaptation in the 1970s. Giraud’s vision of the Dune universe was dominated by flowing robes and bright, psychedelic colors. The 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune offers a closer look of what might have been.
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The Armor of House Atreides
In addition to the stillsuits, these new images also offer a closer look at the uniforms and armor worn by the members of House Atreides. Here, too, the new movie seems to be drawing its inspiration from the Lynch film, as the Atreides members are shown wearing dark military uniforms with very little in the way of ornamentation. Unlike their enemies in House Harkonnen, the Atreides family aren’t big on showing off their wealth.
Other outdoor shots show characters like Oscar Isaac’s Duke Leto Atreides and Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck wearing heavy armor. This armor can be worn over the stillsuits and provide even greater protection when the members of the family venture outside their castle.
These images are meant to show Leto and his family preparing for the absolute worst as they settle into Arrakis. As the movie opens, House Atreides has seemingly been granted a great honor by the Padishah Emperor in being allowed to rule Arrakis. But Leto knows that this “honor” is merely a preamble to an attack from House Harkonnen. He and his family are prepared for an attack from any direction. Or so they think…
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Where Are the Guns?
You might notice something strange about these images of armored sci-fi characters. Despite the fact that the core Dune saga takes place many thousands of years in the future, we see characters wielding close-range weapons like knives, batons and staves rather than guns. Guns certainly exist in the Dune universe (where they’re known as lasguns), but they’re mostly reserved for ordinary infantryman. Nobles instead tend to fight hand-to-hand or with knives in ritualistic duels. This is in part because humanity has a deep distrust of technology in the Dune universe. Atomic weapons are outlawed, and even traditional computers have mostly been replaced by conditioned humans known as mentats.
However, the lack of ranged weapons in these images is also because lasguns are incredibly risky weapons when aimed at the wealthy elite. Pretty much anyone with enough wealth and resources in this universe wears a personal shield on their clothing. These shields don’t deflect lasgun blasts, they actually detonate in a powerful explosion that kills the wearer, their assassin, and anything else in the surrounding area. Shields are less a means of protection than a system of mutually assured destruction. That’s usually enough to guarantee duels are fought up close and personal.
Many members of the Atreides family, including Timothée Chalamet’s Paul, are experts in a form of martial arts known as the Weirding Way. Paul eventually teaches that art to the Fremen, transforming them into the deadliest fighting force the galaxy has ever seen. The 1984 movie also introduces a weapon called a Weirding Module, where Paul and his allies can channel their voice into destructive energy waves, but it remains to be seen if the new movie will include that particular element.
For even more on the Dune universe and its influence, check out IGN’s Dune Explained feature and learn about the upcoming HBO Max streaming series Dune: Sisterhood.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com Dune: The Disgusting Yet Practical Function of Those Sci-Fi Suits