Frank Herbert’sDuneis one of the most profound and complex pieces of sci-fi literature that led to many inspirational pieces of science fiction in film, such as George Lucas’Star Warsand George Miller’s Mad Max series. There simply won’t be anything close to matching Dune in premise, but its influences are everywhere.
If you’ve read the entire book series or just the first book,completed Dune Spice Wars, seen all the classic and modern film adaptations of Dune, and ran out of Star Wars media to binge, these films will keep you company. Whether it’s adaptations of novels even earlier than Dune or original sci-fi movies, there’s lots here for fans to enjoy.
Updated on Jun 19, 2025, by Dennis Moiseyev:Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated sequel Dune: Part Two has officially been released, and it’s already proven to be the peak of sci-fi filmmaking. It’s a work of cinematic art that concludes the story of the first book while setting up a sequel. So, if you just can’t get enough “Desert Power,” here are some more movies to quell your Dune-less troubles.
2003
Main Cast
Alec Newman, Susan Sarandon, Daniela Amavia, James McAvoy, Jessica Brooks, Alice Krige, Julie Cox, and Edward Atterton
Where To Stream
Free on YouTube, Hoopla
A perfect way to follow up 2024’s Dune: Part Two, especially if you don’t want to wait another three to four years for the next installment, is watching the Syfy Channel adaptation of Children of Dune. There are only three episodes that make up a total runtime of four hours and 26 minutes, not unusual for a film and still shorter than both Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies combined.
As the name suggests, the plot of the third Dune novel is set over 20 years after the events of the original and now follows Paul Atreides' adult children, twins Leto II and Ghanima Atreides,with his sister Alia Atreides as regent. This miniseries also marks one of the earliest roles for actor James McAvoy, starring as Paul’s son Leto.
1973
Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart, Jean Valmont, Yves Barsacq, and Gérard Hernandez
Cynthia Adler (English dub), Mark Gruner (English dub), Hal Smith (English dub), Barry Bostwick (English dub), and Olan Soule (English dub)
HBO Max
Fantastic Planet is probably one of the most interesting pieces of cinema you’ll ever get to experience in your lifetime. It’s confounding and often visually bizarre and grotesque, but in the words of Denis Villeneuve, “Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema.”
This animated feature comes from a French team of filmmakers, led by director, artist, and animator René Laloux. The backdrop is a desert planet, here known as Ygam, where humans are transported to become lab rats subject to the brutality of the society of Traags. The images and themes are much more disturbing than Dune, so don’t let the cute art style fool you.
1983
Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Liam Neeson, Francesca Annis, Alun Armstrong, and Bernard Bresslaw
YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV (For purchase)
Krull is a movie that’s the textbook definition of the damsel-in-distress trope and shares a plot that’s almost exactly parallel with Mario and Peach. Although it will feel dated by its themes and also its special effects, it’s still one of the most unique sci-fi movies to blend elements of fantasy and take the medieval setting to outer space, specifically on the planet Krull.
The story follows the main character, a prince named Colwyn, who is about to marry Princess Lyssa before an alien race of Slayers invades Krull on a literal floating black mountain fortress of a spaceship to steal her away. The combat will feel a bit reminiscent of Dune but the characterswon’t be riding sandworms here, instead riding across the skies on the fiery tracks laid out by what are called fire mares.
1980
Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Ornella Muti, Peter Wyngarde, and Topol
Flash Gordon has gone through plenty of iterations, being adapted from a 1930s comic strip into film and television, but the 1980 version is considered to be among the best of them. While the space opera story predates Dune, this adaptation’s sets, costumes, and overall aesthetics will certainly feel likethe precursor to David Lynch’s take on Dune.
The villain here is Emperor Ming the Merciless and Flash Gordon is a professional football quarterback recruited to stop him on an adventure that takes him to the planet Mongo. There are plenty of memorable and entertaining moments with Sam J. Jones and the Hawkmen, plus an earworm of an original tune by the band Queen.
1984
Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Shia LaBeouf, Chris Sarandon, Edward James Olmos, and Tony Jay
If you like Dune but are also a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s incredible animated movies with Studio Ghibli, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind offers the perfect combo. It was directed by Miyazaki just before Studio Ghibli was founded, and the visuals, environments, and world are directly inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune.
You can clearly see the moments where the sandworms receive some nods, as well as the ornithopter ships, and Nausicaa’s story shares plenty of the beats seen in Paul Atreides’s. Instead of the main conflict being about spice, the princess' goal is to ensure peace and prevent the extinction of the planet’s jungle of mutated insects.
The film is also available on HBO Max with a Japanese audio version.
2013
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, H.R. Giger, Chriss Foss, Nicolas Winding Refn, Diane O’Bannon, Brontis Jodorowsky, Amanda Lear
You’ve seen David Lynch’s vision of Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s, and even John Harrison’s miniseries style, but the world never got to see the spiritual avant-garde ideas of filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky when it came to his Dune adaptation. This documentary explores Jodorowsky’s interpretation of Dune and his creative process and shares details from the ’70s film that could’ve been.
This film is a treat for fans of Dune and filmmaking in general, as it interviews several notable artists, special effects supervisors, and producers in the crafting of such a daring vision. Imagine a Dune adaptation with Dan O’Bannon, H.R. Giger, Salvador Dalí, and even possibly Mick Jagger involved, with storyboards unlike anything accomplished in cinema before. That’s Jodorowsky’s Dune.
Actress Léa Seydoux, who plays Lady Margot Fenring in 2024’s Dune: Part Two, is the grand niece of producer Michel Seydoux, who closely worked with director Alejandro Jodorowsky to bring his short-lived cinematic vision of Dune to life.
Lana and Lilly Wachowski (The Wachowskis)
1999
Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, and Gloria Foster
Good science fiction recognizes good science fiction, and The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, and Carrie-Anne Moss, is as iconic of a story as Dune, even though the sci-fi direction couldn’t be any more different. Instead of the spice-sought desert planet of Arrakis, enter a digital simulation known as The Matrix.
Here, you’ll meet Neo, a seemingly average citizen who’s suddenly being hunted by agents who have him questioning reality and gets looped into a rebellious organization led by the enigmatic Morpheus and his partner Trinity. He soon learns the truth via prophecy while also picking up some sweet bullet-dodging moves, andwill go up against an alien race of AIimprisoning humans in pods.
2017
Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Rutger Hauer, and Sam Spruell
Amazon Prime Video
From Léon: The Professional to The Transporter to Taken to Lucy, acclaimed action-thriller writer and director Luc Besson has now gifted cinema his second foray into science fiction after The Fifth Element, and that is Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Like Dune, Valerian is also a visionary adaptation of a French comic book series of the same name that began in the 1960s.
Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne star as protagonists Valerian and Laureline, officers of the space station known as Alpha, formerly the ISS, an interstellar haven for various life forms from thousands of planets, hence the name. The characters, costumes, visuals, and alien designs are phenomenal, even though the conspiracy storyline might not be as compelling.
1968
Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, James Whitmore, James Daly, and Robert Gunner
Starz, Sling TV
Dune was a sci-fi product of the ’60s, and Planet of the Apes started as a sci-fi novel by French author Pierre Boulle in 1963 before getting a movie adaptation just five years later, with a script co-written by The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling. If you want authentic 1960s sci-fi on the screen and a barren planetary setting, the original Planet of the Apes is an Oscar-nominated title worth checking out.
The movie Planet of the Apes tells the story of a three-astronaut crew landing on a seemingly alien planet where apes have evolved to speak the human English language and humans are enslaved by them. It’s a thought-provoking piece of sci-fi and comes with one of the most iconic twists in cinema.
2015
Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Riley Keough
Hulu
If you want to be as immersed in the desert as you are in Dune, then Mad Max Fury Road is the only sound option. Continuing the saga created by George Miller, the role of Mad Max is now given to Tom Hardy, and the barren, apocalyptic wasteland sees a new ruler in Immortan Joe, who commands an army of minions known as War Boys.
The production design, costumes, sound, and visual effects have won the film Oscars, so those drawn to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune will feel right at home (minus the planetary sci-fi elements).The frenetic pulse-pounding vehicle and hand-to-hand actionof Fury Road are also joined by the new character Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, an excellent badass equal to Mad Max.
