Dune is one of the most underrated franchises in the sci-fi genre. Although it began as a book series, it was first adapted as a film in 1984. Although the film came much later after the first Star Wars film, Star Wars seems to have a few things in common with the Dune book series.
The first Dune book released back in 1965 and introduced us to a magnificent universe. The book was so good it won multiple awards, including the Hugo award.
However, it took a lot of time to see a film rendition of the books because of budget problems and essentially a lack of resources to bring this universe to the silver screens.
Over the years, there have been a few adaptations of different books from the series, and the universe within the books itself is pretty extensive. So, in this article, I’ll be covering both the reading order and the watch order of the franchise.
Let’s dive right in!
1. Dune Books
1.1 Release Order
The release order is divided into two sections:
- The OG books by Frank Herbert
- The continuation to the series by Brian Herbert (Frank’s son) and sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson
When you read the books in the release order, the most significant advantage you have is that you get to experience Frank Herbert’s impeccable writing that won him multiple awards for the books he wrote.
But of course, the disadvantage is that when you move on the Brian and Kevin’s continuation of the legacy, they are a letdown because they don’t add any novelty to the universe but play with the same elements till today that Frank had crafted in 1965.
1.1.1 Frank Herbert
- Dune | 1965
- Dune Messiah | 1969
- Children of Dune | 1976
- God Emperor of Dune | 1981
- Heretics of Dune | 1984
- Chapterhouse: Dune | 1985
1.1.2 Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
- House Atreides | 1999
- House Harkonnen | 2000
- House Corrino | 2001
- The Butlerian Jihad | 2002
- The Machine Crusade | 2003
- The Battle of Corrin | 2004
- The Road to Dune | 2005
- Hunters of Dune | 2006
- Sandworms of Dune | 2007
- Paul of Dune | 2008
- The Winds of Dune | 2009
- Sisterhood of Dune | 2011
- Tales of Dune | 2011
- Mentants of Dune | 2014
- Navigators of Dune | 2016
- The Duke of Caladan | 2020
- The Lady of Caladan | 2021
- The Heir of Caladan | 2022
When you read the books in the release order, the most significant advantage you have is that you get to experience Frank Herbert’s impeccable writing that won him multiple awards.
But, there is a disadvantage too. When you move on to Brian and Kevin’s books, you’ll see the obvious difference in the quality of storytelling. The story arcs seem to be oversimplified, the characters lack depth, and overall, it becomes an underwhelming read.
1.2 Chronological Reading Order
If you follow the chronological reading order, you’ll have to be patient. This is because Brian and Kevin added numerous prequels to Frank Herbert’s Dune. The reading experience wouldn’t be engaging enough for you to read all of them, and there’s a good chance you might get tired midway, thus never reaching the original series.
However, it is interesting to note that some of the stories focusing on different houses and the Bene Gesserit are intriguing. The premise did seem strong, and the books had the potential to become as great as Frank Herbet’s.
- The Butlerian Jihad | 2002
- The Machine Crusade | 2003
- The Battle of Corrin | 2004
- Sisterhood of Dune | 2011
- Mentants of Dune | 2014
- Navigators of Dune | 2016
- House Atreides | 1999
- House Harkonnen | 2000
- House Corrino | 2001
- The Duke of Caladan | 2020
- The Lady of Caladan | 2021
- The Heir of Caladan | 2022
- Dune | 1965
- Paul of Dune | 2008
- The Winds of Dune | 2009
- Dune Messiah | 1969
- Children of Dune | 1976
- God Emperor of Dune | 1981
- Heretics of Dune | 1984
- Chapterhouse: Dune | 1985
- Hunters of Dune | 2006
- Sandworms of Dune | 2007
- The Road to Dune | 2005
- Tales of Dune | 2011
The last two titles in the series, The Road to Dune and Tales of Dune, are short stories that don’t have a specific chronology. They don’t occur at a particular time in the sequence but are spread across the entire series. So they can make up for a light read once you’re done with the series.
2. Dune Movies and Series
Earlier in this article, I had mentioned how it was pretty difficult for people to adapt the books into quality cinema. The first film released in 1984, almost two decades after the first book was released.
In these two decades, multiple people and studios wanted to adapt Dune into a full-fledged feature film. However, the project got stalled for various reasons, such as budget issues and lack of technology to bring the creator’s vision to life.
The number of books adapted into films or series is very few, so the franchise’s release order and chronological order are pretty simple to understand.
2.1 Release Order and Chronological Watch Order
- Dune | 1984
- Frank Herbert’s Dune | Miniseries | 2000
- Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune | Miniseries | 2003
- Dune: Part One | 2021
You can watch the films and series in their release order itself as they all try to tell similar stories from Frank’s book series. However, if you’re someone who loves cinema and its various facets, you’d be also be fascinated by how storytelling, VFX, and cinematography styles have evolved with time.
The director of Dune (1984), David Lynch and the director of Dun (2021), Denis Villeneuve have distinct styles of depicting the same story. It is pretty fascinating the way they’ve used the color tones, the music, etc. and it’d be a great experience for you to dissect between the two. So, that would be an added advantage to watching the titles in their release order.
3. Dune Books, Movies and Series
3.1 Complete Order
If you want to read all the books and watch all the films and series in this franchise, you can follow the order below:
- Frank Herbert’s Series
- Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s Series
- Movies and TV series in release order
While I have recommended a particular reading and watch order for the books, films, and shows, this is the final order that combines both to give you the complete experience.
The latest rendition of the book was Dune: Part One (2021). There’s going to be a Part Two in 2023 and even a Part Three, for which we still don’t know the release date.
So until then, you can read all the books and watch the previous adaptations of the book series.
4. Where to Watch
Dune (1984) and Dune: Part One (2021) are currently not streaming on any platform. Dune (2021) was available on HBO Max for only 31 days. However, you can rent or buy both of these films on Google Play.
The Dune miniseries is not available on any streaming platform. But, you can still watch the complete Dune miniseries on YouTube. It was uploaded by fans of the franchise, who enjoyed the show.
Now that you have the complete reading and watch order of the Dune franchise, you can get started!
5. About Dune Franchise
The Dune Franchise involves over 21 books, two films, and two miniseries. The original books were written by Frank Herbert and later the series was continued by his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
The first Dune film was released in 1984 and the latest one was released in 2021. Dune: Part Two will soon begin shooting in 2022, which will pick up from the events of Part One.
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