David Lynch, director of the previous Dune (1984), stated that he has "zero interest" in the new movie. He cited that his issues have nothing to do with director Denis Villeneuve but with his own painful memories of making the 1984 version: "Because it was a heartache for me. It was a failure and I didn't have final cut. I've told this story a billion times. It's not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much - but it was a total failure for me."
Denis Villeneuve confirmed in a Vanity Fair article that his adaptation of Dune will be split into two films in order to ensure that the original story would be "preserved and not cut into a million pieces." However, contrary to the common practice of filming several installments back to back, only the first movie (which roughly covers the first half of the source novel) was greenlit and produced, with an optional sequel depending on how well the first film performed. A sequel was greenlit on the Tuesday after the film opened. According to production designer Patrice Vermette, the movie was originally supposed to end later in the story, but during pre-production, these final scenes were shifted to the sequel, meaning that some of the preparation for Dune : Deuxième Partie (2024) had already been done.
Composer Hans Zimmer is a big fan of the novel Dune, and turned down working with frequent collaborator Sir Christopher Nolan on Tenet (2020) to score this film. For the same reason, although Denis Villeneuve was the top choice to direct the Bond film Mourir peut attendre (2021), he turned down the offer.
The scenes on the ocean world of Caladan were shot in Stadlandet, Norway. Much of the desert scenes on the desert world of Arrakis were shot in the Middle East, in Jordan and Abu Dhabi. Director Denis Villeneuve had previously shot parts of Incendies (2010) in Jordan, and always felt that its desert vistas and striking rock formations would be perfect in portraying the alien world of Arrakis if he ever got the chance to make a Dune adaptation.
Denis Villeneuve wanted Stellan Skarsgård to play Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, because even though he describes Skarsgård as a very nice man, he also admitted to being somewhat scared by the actor. Villeneuve saw the Baron as a "rhino in human form", but didn't want to resort to CGI, so Skarsgård had to spend seven hours a day applying makeup for his role as the Baron.
Roger Yuan: (at around 55 mins) The film's fight coordinator, who developed the various fighting styles seen in the film, appears as an extra when Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) gives Paul (Timothée Chalamet) an Arrakis compass. Yuan reprises his role in Dune : Deuxième Partie (2024).