Timothée Chalamet is seen as Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s remake of sci-fi epic Dune

Timothée Chalamet takes on the role of Paul Atreides in the latest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction epic Dune.

A first look at Denis Villeneuve’s reimagining of the story was unveiled by Vanity Fair on Monday.

The new image shows Chalamet, clad in black, walking along a shoreline on his native oceanic planet of Caladan as transport ships descend to take him away.

‘It’s time to return to Arrakis.’ the caption reads alongside the image posted to Vanity Fair’s Instagram page. 

The publication will be following up this week with more glimpses into the big screen version coming this December. 

The story follows Atreides and his family as they embark on a trip to desert mining planet Arrakis to oversee the extraction of melange, the most valuable substance in the universe. 

A royal decree awards Arrakis to Duke Leto Atreides and ousts his bitter enemies, the Harkonnens. However, when the Harkonnens violently seize back their fiefdom, it is up to Paul, Leto’s son, to lead the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis, in a battle for control of the planet and its spice. 

‘The immediately appealing thing about Paul was the fact that in a story of such detail and scale and world-building, the protagonist is on an anti-hero’s-journey of sorts,’ Chalamet told Vanity Fair. 

‘He thinks he’s going to be sort of a young general studying his father and his leadership of a fighting force before he comes of age, hopefully a decade later, or something like that,’

Rounding out the cast is Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac as Chalamet’s parents, Josh Brolin as a veteran soldier and Stellan Skarsgard as the film’s primary antagonist.

Others starring include Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, David Dastmalchian, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.

David Lynch’s adaptation of the novel in 1984 was somewhat of a flop, failing to make much impact at the box office but still became a cult favorite among sci-fi fans.

2020’s Dune is still slated for release on December 18 despite the coronavirus pandemic suspending Hollywood productions and pushing back movie release dates. 

Director Villeneuve, behind sci-fi blockbusters such as Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, said: ‘Dune was made by people from all over the world. Many of these people are like family to me, and they’re very much in my thoughts,

‘I’m so proud to showcase their hard work. I look forward to a time when we can all get together again as Dune was made to be seen on the big screen.’