The Sleeper Moves Toward Morning — ‘Dune’ Trailer To Premiere September 9
by Erik Amaya
After much speculation and wonder, the trailer for Denis Villeneuve‘s adaptation of Dune will soon arrive.
As Indiwire reports, the trailer will premiere on September 9th. But theatergoers will get a brief teaser — referred to as a “trailer date teaser” — in front of screenings of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Tenet. Outside the United States, this means fans can catch a glimpse of it starting August 30th. Inside the US, the teaser will be available as theaters reopen on August 31st.
We can’t help but feel a form of kanly being obeyed here. Or, at least, some Landsraad-style intrigue to get fans into movie theaters — one of the most high-risk zones for COVID-19 infection according to the current science on the matter. And as we’ve been looking forward to this film for a long time, we can’t help but feel Warner Bros’ move here is a little, well, ill-advised.
As the site points out, Warner Bros. Pictures has been using the trailer tease strategy for sometime, with brief glimpses of films like Birds of Prey and Tenet appearing before other Warner Bros. releases. It’s a fine strategy in better times, but feels inappropriate here.
Making matters stranger is Dune‘s own examination of power and how messages are used to control a populace. That a studio would invite its customers into risky behavior to see a few moments of a film which, in theory, will criticize such tactics is certainly ironic. Then again, 2020 is a year overstuffed with such on-the-nose ironies. As we stated alongside our Tenet review, we strongly advise those in the US to avoid indoor movie theaters for the time being and instead use VOD options — even with the seemingly absurd up-charge — or drive-in theaters where available. As for Dune, it should be easy to wait another ten days or so to see the trailer from the safety of home.
Dune is set for release on December 18th.
