LOS ANGELES, April 6 — Veteran scribe Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay for Forrest Gump, has been hired to pen an upcoming adaptation of the best-selling Frank Herbert sci-fi novel Dune.

The film will be helmed by director Denis Villeneuve, who has previously worked on films such as Arrival and Sicario, with the scene set in the distant future and centered on a character called Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis.

The Dune reboot will mark Roth's first foray into the world of science fiction, with his previous film credits including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Munich, along with the famous Forrest Gump for which he earned an Academy Award.

Legendary closed a deal with the Frank Herbert estate last Thanksgiving for the iconic novel, granting the studio rights to not only films, but also TV projects on the sci-fi property.

The projects would be produced by Villeneuve, Mary Parent and Cale Boyter, with Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Thomas Tull and Kim Herbert serving as executive producers. Kevin J Anderson will serve as a creative consultant (via Variety). — AFP-Relaxnews