Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's grand sci-fi epic Dune officially earns the "Certified Fresh" stamp of approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Villeneuve's film marks the latest adaptation of Herbert's 1965 novel, with David Lynch having tried his hand at the material in 1984 and two miniseries having been produced in the early aughts. Dune is part of a two-film plan from Villeneuve to split Herbert's 412-page book in half, while a prequel series entitled Sisterhood of Dune is in the works at HBO Max and the filmmaker is holding on to hope to expand the films into a trilogy.

Dune centers on Paul Atreides, the young son and heir to the noble family Atreides, as he and his family attempt to take ownership of the desert planet of Arrakis, home to the most valuable substance in the universe known as "the spice," though find themselves caught up in a war for the planet. The ensemble cast for the film includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian and Javier Bardem. Dune made its world premiere at this year's Venice International Film Festival to largely positive reviews from critics, building anticipation for its impending arrival.

Related: Dune's Early Box Office Is Good, But Doesn't Guarantee Success

With just over a week remaining until the film's wide release, Dune has officially acquired enough reviews on Rotten Tomatoes to earn the "Certified Fresh" approval label from critics. The film has aggregated 97 reviews, 87 of which are positive and have pushed the film to a 90 percent "Certified Fresh" rating on the website. See the critical consensus below:

Dune occasionally struggles with its unwieldy source material, but those issues are largely overshadowed by the scope and ambition of this visually thrilling adaptation.

Paul's eyes glow blue as he wears a golden armor and the sand scatters behind him in Dune (2021).

The "Certified Fresh" rating from critics for Dune on Rotten Tomatoes marks an exciting new entry into Villeneuve's filmography as the sci-fi epic now sits as his ninth positively reviewed film on the review aggregate and his seventh to receive the label. For the time being, the film currently sits as his fourth-best-reviewed film on the platform behind ArrivalSicario and Incendies. While the film's wide release could certainly see the score drop by a few points, the strong start for the film does also point towards a possibility of a rise in the score in the coming weeks.

The early positive reception to Dune is also very promising for Villeneuve's hope for follow-ups in the near future. The filmmaker recently confirmed that he had begun writing on Dune: Part Two with a treatment from Eric Roth while a recent report regarding the film's HBO Max release revealed that the streaming deal came with an assurance for Villeneuve that the sequel will be greenlit if it performs well on the WarnerMedia platform. Only time will tell what the future holds for the property when Dune hits theaters and HBO Max on October 22.

More: Dune 2: Casting Every Major New Character For The Sequel

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

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