Peter Berg Exits Dune

Pajiba.com is reporting that Peter Berg is no longer attached to direct Paramount’s Dune, a new adaptation of the Frank Herbert classic.

“Dune” spawned five sequels written by Herbert, and inspired a 1984 film adaptation by David Lynch, and in 2000 two mini-series made by the SCI FI Channel (now called Syfy), computer games, a board game, and a series of prequels and sequels co-written by the author’s son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

The site says the search is on for a replacement:

The search, however, has run into two issues: 1) they’re looking for a director who can put the movie together for under $175 million, which sounds manageable, but they don’t want anything resembling the crap effects of the ‘84 film, and 2) they want a director who already has a preexisting passion for the novel and is enthusiastic about the project. Right now, Paramount is shopping the script to two directors: They like Neill Blompkamp (District 9), who has the right vision, but the frontrunner, at the moment, is Neil Marshall (The Descent), who was sent the script early this month. However, despite the enthusiasm of producer, Kevin Misher (Public Enemies), the studio is somewhat tepid on Marshall, uncertain about handing over a $175 million film with franchise potential to a somewhat unknown director whose only hit was the modestly successful The Descent.

Thanks to Cinematical for pointing the way.

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