I mean, how great would it be to see your artistic influence spreading out. Herbert could've been glad at any help he gave Lucas, as helped moviemaking itself grow up. But he got bitchy and punishing. And a subtext is Herbert's inability to make a movie. His screenplay was rejected, including by David Lynch.

I'm struck that Star Wars is like a seed that keeps growing. New plots, new directions. But Dune is a more closed system. If Lucas took any creative psychology from Herbert it’s like Prometheus stealing fire. (Then Lucas also got punishing & controlling with the last Star Wars trilogy. Just as bitchy as Herbert had been.)

Denis Villeneuve says he found Dune when he was 13 or 14 & loved it, and that the book has been part of his creative psyche from the start of his career. He pointed to his early movies which feature Dune influences. I think he brought Sci-Fi movies into maturity with Arrival, so that could be thought of as Herbert’s ongoing accomplishments.

Villeneuve is like a son who the father didn't have opportunity to control and punish. He read the book and liked it. He thought he could use things, and let it be a part of him. What do we learn from this? The only good father is an absent one.