He who controls the spice controls the universe, and now we know who will control the spice! At least for the foreseeable future, anyway. Legendary Entertainment has announced that they have reached an agreement with the estate of Frank Herbert that has allowed them to acquire the rights to Herbert’s classic novel ‘Dune’.

According to a press release published by Legendary, the agreement includes the development and production of potential ‘Dune’ projects for both film and television. Any such projects would see Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, and Cale Boyter serve as producers, and would include Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, and Kim Herbert as executive producers. The project would also be a collaboration between Legendary and Universal.

A sprawling epic often compared to the works of J.R.R. Tolkein, ‘Dune’ was first published in 1965. The novel follows Paul Atreides as his family – one of several noble houses – assumes control of the planet Arrakis. As Arrakis is the only source of the valuable substance known as spice, control of the planet is a prospect as coveted as it is dangerous. In addition to the original novel, Herbert penned a series of five sequels. After Herbert’s death, his son Brian collaborated with Kevin J. Anderson to produce a number of prequels and tie-ins, often drawing on Frank Herbert’s notes.

‘Dune’ was previously (and most famously) adapted as a feature film by David Lynch in 1984. Though not the most resounding success at the box office, Lynch’s film has since come to be regarded as a cult classic. In addition to the 1984 film, the original novel was adapted by john Harrison along with sequels ‘Dune Messiah’ and ‘Children of Dune’ into a pair of miniseries for the Sci-Fi Channel.

No word yet on when a new adaptation of the sci-fi classic might hit our screens, but as always, make sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more news as it becomes available.