Frank Herbert’s novel Dune has been called the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, with over 12 million copies sold. Given this popularity, it’s not surprising that there have been numerous attempts to translate the novel to the screen. However, Herbert’s far-reaching saga of feudal family warfare set against a galactic empire doesn’t lend itself easily to direct adaptation.Cult film director David Lynch, who had previously directed the surreal Eraserhead and the dream-like The Elephant Man, was hired to direct the first Dune film in 1981. He followed previous possible directors Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott, whose projects never got off the ground. Lynch took to the project with gusto, casting unknown Kyle MacLachlan as protagonist Paul Atreides and Sting as the malevolent na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.Lynch’s script incorporated many of his favorite elements, including the power of dreams and the effects of violence. What he finally produced was a four-hour rough cut of the film, which he intended to whittle down to three hours. However, the studio demanded a two-hour cut of the film. Lynch and his producers cut out several scenes and filmed new ones to simply certain plot elements. Whether as a result of this cutting or not, the final cut was deemed confusing and near-unwatchable by many reviewers. However, the film has achieved a long life in the cult film community.In 2000, a television miniseries for the Sci Fi channel was produced, written and directed by John Harrison. Alec Newman starred as Paul Atreides in this series, which Harrison intended to be a faithful adaptation (in contrast to Lynch’s more loose direction). The series does feature certain subplots that didn’t appear in the book, however. The initial cut of the series was 265 minutes long, with a 295 minute director’s cut later released.Harrison’s miniseries was one of the three highest-rated programs ever shown on the channel. In 2003, Harrison returned to write Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune, a three-part series based off of the second two novels in the series. Instead of Harrison, Greg Yaitanes directed the series, which also made Sci Fi’s top three broadcasts. Children of Dune is readily available on DVD (the earlier series was also released, but you may have to look a little harder for it).A new film is currently in the works, although like the original feature, it’s having a little trouble getting off the ground. Director Peter Berg was announced as a director in 2008, but later dropped out in 2009. In January 2010, Pierre Morel (Taken, From Paris With Love) was announced as a director, but he has since stepped down to “executive producer.” What the future holds for this new film is still unknown, but there’s certainly plenty of room for a new director to mold this story to their own vision. At least now you’ve got time to read (or re-read) the books.