Zendaya appears to be in Jordan's Wadi Rum in this scene from the newly released 'Dune' trailer. YouTube
Zendaya appears to be in Jordan's Wadi Rum in this scene from the newly released 'Dune' trailer. YouTube
Zendaya appears to be in Jordan's Wadi Rum in this scene from the newly released 'Dune' trailer. YouTube
Zendaya appears to be in Jordan's Wadi Rum in this scene from the newly released 'Dune' trailer. YouTube

'Dune': Timothee Chalamet and Oscar Isaac spotted in Abu Dhabi desert in new trailer


Emma Day
  • English
  • Arabic

Judging by a newly released trailer, we're in for a wild ride in the upcoming action-adventure film Dune – and it's a journey that will take viewers across some of the UAE and Jordan's most striking landscapes.

The sci-fi epic, which is set to hit cinemas in December, stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa and Oscar Isaac in the big-screen remake of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel.

Some of the scenes for the high-octane fantasy were filmed in the Abu Dhabi desert and Jordan's Wadi Rum, both of which can be glimpsed in the new clip.

Dune is set on Arrakis, an inhospitable fictional planet that is home to the galaxy's most prized resource, a life-extending drug named "spice". The film revolves around a young royal, Paul Atreides (Chalamet), who not only has to battle hostile native creatures to mine spice, but also uphold his family's stewardship of the land against other interstellar noble houses.

The UAE forms a key backdrop of Arrakis, with its rolling sand dunes providing an eerily arid landscape.

A sandworm makes an appearance at the end of the new 'Dune' trailer. YouTube
A sandworm makes an appearance at the end of the new 'Dune' trailer. YouTube

Little Women actor Chalamet, and Star Wars' Isaac, who portrays Duke Leto Atreides, can be spied touching down in the desert, while the former can also be spotted running across the sands later in the trailer.

Arrakis is dominated by imposing creatures called sandworms, one of which appears in pursuit of Chalamet's character.

"Fear is the mind killer," the Oscar-nominated actor says in a voiceover. "Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear and I will permit it to pass over me. When the fear is gone, there will be nothing – only I will remain."

The upcoming blockbuster, directed by Denis Villeneuve, also stars Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard and Rebecca Ferguson.

Isaac and Ferguson take on the roles of Atreides's parents, while Skarsgard portrays the head of House Harkonnen, the longstanding enemy of House Atreides.

Zendaya plays a Fremen woman, one of the native inhabitants of Arrakis, while Momoa and Brolin take on the roles of elite warriors who help train up the young Atreides. Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem round out the star-studded cast.

Regional shooting took place in Wadi Rum – which has also featured in The MartianStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Aladdin – in the summer of 2019, then moved to the desert outside Abu Dhabi.

Zendaya plays a Fremen woman, one of the native inhabitants of Arrakis. YouTube
Zendaya plays a Fremen woman, one of the native inhabitants of Arrakis. YouTube

"It was really surreal," Chalamet, 24, told Variety earlier this year of shooting a scene at dawn in the south of Jordan. "There are these Goliath landscapes, which you may imagine existing on planets in our universe, but not on Earth."

The film, helmed by Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 filmmaker Villeneuve, is the second silver-screen adaption of the Hugo Award-winning novel, following David Lynch's much-criticised 1984 take.

Dune is set to be released on Friday, December 18.

See more images from the upcoming film in the gallery below:

RESULTS

2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m 

Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer) 

3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m 

Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar 

3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m 

Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard 

4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m 

Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly 

4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m 

Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi 

5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000  T) 1,000m 

Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi 

6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m 

Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson  

Company profile

Company: Eighty6 

Date started: October 2021 

Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh 

Based: Dubai, UAE 

Sector: Hospitality 

Size: 25 employees 

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investment: $1 million 

Investors: Seed funding, angel investors  

RESULTS

1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Lady Parma, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Tabernas, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m
Winner: Night Castle, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Mutawakked, Szczepan Mazur, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Tafaakhor, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Cranesbill, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets