“Dune” Asks: “Is That a Sandworm in Your Pocket . . . or Are You Just Glad to See Me?” (Plus a Look at Frank Herbert’s Homophobia)

Attending the morning screening of Dune at the New York Film Festival, I was hoping for an LGBTQI romantic comedy about the Pines on Fire Island. What I got was Star Bores.

Clearly, there is nothing overtly queer about this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 sci-fi novel. Even a bare-chested Timothée Chalamet in bed sets off no sparks. As Paul Atreides, he portrays the son of Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides, ruler of the ocean planet Caladan, who’s assigned by the Emperor Shadda to serve as fief ruler of the planet Arrakis.” It’s times like these when you really appreciate Wikipedia.

“[Frank] Herbert was a dick about his son being gay.”

So why is everyone so excited about controlling Arrakis and subjugating its native inhabitants? Well, it’s home to a valuable “spice” that endows its users with “a longer life span, greater vitality, and heightened awareness,” plus you need to ingest it for interstellar space travel.