Been there, Dune that.

Peter Berg to Direct (yet another) ‘Dune.’ (link to the original press release)

Ladies and gentlemen, the next (what?) huge sci-fi franchise has a director. During an interview with “The Kingdom” director Peter Berg, he confirmed the rumor that “Dune” is coming and that he’s the one that will helm it. Calling the plans for him to direct “a done deal,” Berg told me that “if it weren’t for the writer’s strike, we’d be in it right now.” (chalk one victory up for the writer's strike then!)

Berg says that while there’s no script yet, they have a list of writers they plan to go out to once the strike settles. The helmer called himself “a huge fan of the book” and when asked about the scale of the film, he simply replied, “big big big.”

As any fan of the Frank Herbert classic knows, “Dune” received the big screen treatment once before in a divisive David Lynch film. Berg said that while he’s “a big fan of Lynch,” he believes “that interpretation has left the door wide open for a remake.” (and as there's no mention of the Sci-fi Channel's version that not only remade Dune, but also Dune Messiah combined with Children of Dune - guess you're not THAT big of a fan, huh, Peter?)

No word on casting - I can imagine Tom Cruise...

Meanwhile, Berg also confirmed that even before “Dune,” he’s likely to direct Tom Cruise in his next film. Berg called the script about a CIA agent on the run after being accused of being a spy “great” and “a great role for Tom.” (Because we've NEVER seen this movie before - it's totally original!)

Berg described the story as an “action thriller” and that “the audience is trying to figure out whether this character is good or bad. He’s claiming one thing and we’re not sure up until the very end.” (So it's complicated, and original, and it's Tom running! Yep, never seen that before! Kablam!)

When asked if he’s met with Cruise himself yet, Berg said “we’ve been talking.” (ah, no, that means you're leaving messages on his voice mail - this is called 'not signed'...)