Where Was "Dune" Filmed?
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Dune day has finally come and with the film out in theaters and on HBO Max, fans are excited to see stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and Oscar Isaac bring the 1965 sci-fi novel to life on the big screen.
Set thousands of years into the future, Dune follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), an intelligent young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding. Paul discovers that he must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe, Arrakis, to ensure the future of his family and his people. He faces conflict as evil forces are willing to do anything for Arrakis' exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence that unlocks humanity's greatest potential.
Arrakis is the home of Chani (Zendaya), a tribal inhabitant of the planet and second-class citizen who Paul is drawn to. So, where is the desert-like planet of Arrakis actually located? Ahead, find everything you want to know about where Dune was filmed.
Where was Dune filmed?
In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, Dune director Denis Villeneuve explained that he flew on a helicopter to scout locations for the film. In the interview, he revealed that he refused to use green screens because he wanted real locations to "inspire [himself] to find back that feeling [he] was looking for of isolation, of introspection."
For indoor shots, Dune's crew opted for Origo Studios in Budapest, which is known as one of the largest film studios in Europe.
The movie primarily takes place on two planets — the isolated desert of Arrakis and the green-filled forest of Caladan. These planets were actually made up of several filming locations in real life. In fact, Production designer Patrice Vermette told Condé Nast Traveler that he started traveling to scout for Dune filming locations in 2018.
Where is Arrakis?
While Arrakis isn't a real planet, it's actually located in two locations: the Rub' al Khali desert in Abu Dhabi and the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan.
"We needed to find a desert that wouldn't be romantic or beautiful or like a postcard. It needed to be a place that was scary — the kind of desert where if you're stranded there, it's death for sure. We needed it to have a violence to it," Patrice Vermette told Condé Nast Traveler.
Where is Caladan?
According to a report by Distractify, shooting for Caladan was done on the north coast of Norway because its climate and landscape is quite the opposite of Arrakis. The same report revealed that Slovakia and Austria are among the other places where Dune was filmed.
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