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Is it a problem to have little to no knowledge about the Dune universe before watching the new movie?

Is it helpful to have read the books or watched any prior adaption to fully understand the plot?

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    I haven't seen the new version yet but I can't imagine they would assume prior knowledge. You'd lose a chunk of potential audience if that were the case.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Sep 14, 2021 at 9:44
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    @Paulie_D Thats what I expect as well, but I want to be sure.
    – raznagul
    Commented Sep 14, 2021 at 9:49

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As with every adaptation of books to the big screen, of course you will miss out on the finer details of the plot without knowing anything.

However, you will also notice all the imperfections, embellishments, hand-waived overlooked plot points, missing plot lines, character mis-casts, etc...

Realistically, the movie should be seen on its own and it can stand on its own without much effort.

It introduces the world, characters and plot to the wide audience, without assuming you know anything. There is exposition in dialogue and off-screen narration.

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  • This is basically the answer I was hoping for. I will see the movie today and probably accept the answer afterwards.
    – raznagul
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 7:13
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    @raznagul Of course, you might feel differently after seeing it. Feel free to post your own answer.
    – CGCampbell
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 9:37
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    Bear in mind that just because you might have questions after seeing the movie that would be answered if you had read a dozen books doesn't mean you should have done that. Dune was the first book. There were plenty of references to things in it that were only expanded on in later books. Some people might tell you to read all the prequels first otherwise you won't understand the enmity between the Atreides and the Harkonnens but I would disagree. Certain things are background texture that you don't need to fully understand and the author wrote it that way.
    – Eric Nolan
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 11:19
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    @EricNolan The people that tell you to read all the prequels first are wrong.
    – user25730
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 22:44

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