Kevin J. Anderson Visits FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention

FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention got a little more spicy than normal this past weekend. Dune prequel co-author and creative consultant to the upcoming 2020 Dune movie, Kevin J. Anderson, participated in a two-man Dune panel which happened to be moderated by our own Tracey Magnum of Movies That Make Us.

With the anticipation building and intensifying, people sat waiting for Kevin to take the mic. He sat down and adjusted a couple volumes of his work in the Dune universe onto the table in front of him then paused, composed himself, and addressed the audience. “I’m Kevin J. Anderson and I’ve written a bunch of Star Wars books.”

The room roared with laughter.

Tracy took to the mic and issued a word of warning: Kevin was not allowed to speak about the upcoming Dune movie. “I cannot tell you that the Dune movie will actually be a musical!” Kevin said with a chuckling smile. 

The upcoming Dune film has a lot of fans excited and scared because of the history of the previous films. The 1984 film was a big-budget let down for many. The Sci-Fi channel tried to provide its own adaptation in 2002; however, even though it was more true to the book, Kevin noted, “It was low budget.” Kevin did surprisingly express his appreciation for both. 

“Where else can you see Sting in a red diaper!?” Kevin shouted with loud enthusiasm. 

The upcoming Dune movie will star a list of high-profile actors. To name a few: Jason Mamoa, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, and Timothée Chalamet as the lead character, Paul Atreides. It is directed by Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival director Denis Villeneuve. 

While Kevin J. Anderson could not say much about the upcoming movie, he did close the discussion on the topic with confidently saying, “I have every hope that Denis Villeneuve will do for Dune what Peter Jackson did for The Lord of the Rings.”

This seemed to satisfy the need for information starved fans. Hopefully, soon, decision-makers at production companies will see that the Utah market and the FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention is worthy and ready for some big reveals.

While we wait for others to see the value in us Utah and the residents of the Intermountain West, we will continue to embrace the amazing guests and panelists with open arms that have come and continue to come. 

We were very fortunate to have Kevin J. Anderson in attendance over the weekend. And even though the highly-anticipated film was only briefly discussed, for a nail-biting 45 minutes, he shared the journey of Frank Herbert and the details of his own expedition in writing the prequels and finding Frank’s lost works.