In anticipation of the first trailer, which is due to hit the internet in September, newly released images from the upcoming sci-fi epic Dune have landed. Featuring brand new looks at the likes of Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides, Zendaya's Chani, Josh Brolin's Gurney Halleck, and Oscar Isaac's gloriously bearded Duke Leto Atreides, the most interesting image depicts Jason Momoa's Duncan Idaho taking on several opponents single-handed.

Momoa's magnificently named character, Duncan Idaho, is the sword master of House Atreides and one of Paul's mentors. With Momoa playing the role, it was always a safe bet that the Idaho could handle himself on the battlefield, but this new image demonstrates very well the sheer extent of his skills. Momoa has previously revealed a few details about the role of Duncan Idaho, comparing him to a famous Scruffy-looking Nerfherder. "It's a pretty massive film and I get to be this little-he's kind of the Han Solo-esque of the group," Momoa said of his character. "He's kind of the rogue warrior who protects Timothée Chalamet and he serves Oscar Isaac."

Dune is a mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

You can also see from these images the impact that the ditching of the green-screen will have on proceedings in terms of anchoring the audience in this alien world. Villeneuve has ditched the tech and has instead shot the movie largely in the Wadi Rum desert, an experience that leading man Timothée Chalamet relished. "That part of the Wadi Rum is so awe-inspiring, you might as well be getting chased by that cliff in the background," Chalamet said. "It wasn't a green-screen or anything. That's one of the most thrilling parts of the book and the movie. We had the sketches. That was a lesson for me. On a Call Me By Your Name or Beautiful Boy it can be counterintuitive to see the storyboards because then maybe you limit yourself based on a camera angle or whatever. It's the opposite [here] because, for a sequence with the sandworm chasing you, I could never imagine that."

We were also given our first look at the infamous sandworms recently, with director Denis Villeneuve having discussed the attention to detail that went into crafting the creatures. "We talked about every little detail that would make such a beast possible, from the texture of the skin, to the way the mouth opens, to the system to eat its food in the sand," Villeneuve said of the effort that has gone into the sandworm's design. "It was a year of work to design and to find the perfect shape that looked prehistoric enough."

Dune boasts an impressive, star-studded cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem. Directed by Blade Runner 2049's Denis Villeneuve and with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Villeneuve, and Eric Roth, fans are desperately hoping that the upcoming adaptation will be worthy of the complex source material.

Dune is scheduled for release on December 18, 2020. This comes to us from Empire.