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{{Short description|Fictional extraterrestrial creature}}
{{Redirect|Shai-Hulud|the band|Shai Hulud}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE: Sandworm (''Dune'')}}
{{Infobox fictional element
|name = Sandworm
|image = Dune 2021-Sandworm.jpg
|caption = A sandworm from the 2021 film ''[[Dune (2021 film)|Dune]]''
|source = [[Dune (franchise)|Dune]]
|source_type = franchise
|first = [[Dune (novel)|Dune]]
|date = 1965
|creator = [[Frank Herbert]]
|genre = [[Science fiction]]
|type = Creature
|traits = Aggressive, territorial and destructive, attracted by rhythmic sounds, and driven into a killing frenzy by [[Holtzman shield]]s
}}
A '''sandworm''' is a fictional [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] creature that appears in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' novels]] written by [[Frank Herbert]], first introduced in ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965).
Sandworms are colossal, worm-like creatures that live on the [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]]. Their larvae produce a drug called [[Melange (Dune)|melange]] (known colloquially as "the spice"), the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe because it makes safe and accurate interstellar travel possible. Melange deposits are found in the sand seas of Arrakis, where the sandworms live and hunt, and harvesting the spice from the sand is a dangerous activity because sandworms are aggressive and territorial. Harvesting vehicles must be airlifted in and out of the sand sea in order to evade sandworm attacks. The struggle over the production and supply of melange is a central theme of the ''Dune'' saga. The sandworms are reverently called '''Shai-Hulud''' by the planet's indigenous [[Fremen]], who worship them as agents of God whose actions are a form of divine intervention. The name is the derived from the Arabic {{Lang|ar|شيء خلود}} (''šayʾ khulūd'', "thing of immortality").<ref name="Singh 2024">{{cite magazine | last=Singh | first=Manvir | title=''Dune'' and the Delicate Art of Making Fictional Languages | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] | date=February 28, 2024 | url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/dune-and-the-delicate-art-of-making-fictional-languages | access-date=March 8, 2024 | url-access=subscription | archive-date=March 8, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308034106/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/dune-and-the-delicate-art-of-making-fictional-languages | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Conception==
[[File:Sandworm_analog_jan_1965.png|thumb|upright|One of the earliest illustrations of a sandworm, by [[John Schoenherr]] (''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]]'', January 1965)]]
The sandworms in ''Dune'' were inspired by the [[European dragon|dragons of European mythology]] that guard some sort of treasure. In particular, Herbert referred to [[The Dragon (Beowulf)|the dragon in ''Beowulf'']] that guards a hoard of gold in a cave, and the [[dragon of Colchis]] that guards the [[Golden Fleece]] from [[Jason]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Unpublished interview with Frank Herbert and Professor Willis E. McNelly |date=February 3, 1969 |url=http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |via=sinanvural.com |access-date=March 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 13, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213105526/http://www.sinanvural.com/seksek/inien/tvd/tvd2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=DreamerOfDune>{{cite book|title=[[Dreamer of Dune]]|year=2003|first=Brian|last=Herbert|author-link=Brian Herbert|publisher=[[Tor Books]]|isbn=0765306468}}</ref> Like these dragons, the sandworms of Arrakis will attack anyone who attempts to take the treasure that is spice from the desert sands, as if they were guarding it. In ''[[Children of Dune]]'' (1976), a character even refers to sandworms as "the dragon on the floor of the desert."<ref>{{cite book|first=Frank |last=Herbert|year=1976|title=Children of Dune|publisher=Berkley Publishing Corporation |isbn=9780399116971|url=https://archive.org/details/childrenofdun00herb |url-access=registration}}</ref> However, in the story, the sandworms are merely territorial and have no use for the spice, which is in fact waste matter produced by their larvae.<ref name="Dune">{{Cite book|title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]|date=1965|first=Frank|last=Herbert|publisher=Penguin |author-link=Frank Herbert|isbn=0-441-17271-7}}</ref>
In the plot of Frank Herbert's novel ''Dune'', Herbert used the sandworms (along with the spice they produce) as a plot device to provide [[Paul Atreides]] with the trials through which he ascends to a superhuman state of being. Herbert believed that a memorable myth must have something profoundly moving that could either empower the hero or overwhelm him completely. The force in question must be dangerous and terrifying, yet somehow essential. In ''Dune'', the sandworms serve this function. To earn the spice, humans must cope with sandworm attacks on their harvesting expeditions. To earn an even greater prize (his apotheosis into the all-seeing [[Kwisatz Haderach]]), Paul undergoes even more dangerous and transformative trials in which he risks madness and death, one of which involves the ritual sacrifice of a juvenile sandworm, and another in which he must learn to ride a sandworm.<ref name=sandwormsofdune>{{cite book |chapter=Sandworms of Dune |author=Frank Herbert |date=1977 |title=The Maker of Dune: Thoughts of a Science Fiction Master |editor=Tim O'Reilly}}</ref>
{{blockquote|The elements of any mythology must grow from something profoundly moving, something which threatens to overwhelm any consciousness which tries to confront the primal mystery. Yet, after the primal confrontation, the roots of this threat must appear as familiar and necessary as your own flesh. For this, I give you the sandworms of Dune ... the extension of human lifespan cannot be an unmitigated blessing. Every such acquisition requires a new consciousness. And a new consciousness assumes that you will confront dangerous unknowns—you will go into the deeps.|Frank Herbert, 1977<ref name=sandwormsofdune/>}}
Sandworms are attracted to rhythmic vibrations in the sand, which they mistake for prey (smaller sandworms).<ref name="SR 2021">{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/dune-sandworms-importance-book-movie-explained/|title=''Dune''{{'s}} Sandworms Explained: Why They're So Important|website=[[Screen Rant]]|first=Bella|last=Ross|date=November 5, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=August 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807191854/https://screenrant.com/dune-sandworms-importance-book-movie-explained/}}</ref> To escape the notice of the sandworms, a traveller in the desert must learn to "walk without rhythm" in a manner that simulates the natural sounds of the desert. This element comes from Frank Herbert's experiences as a hunter and fisherman. He knew how to mask his presence from prey by techniques such as approaching from downwind and treading lightly.<ref name=DreamerOfDune/> Frank Herbert's son [[Brian Herbert|Brian]] explained that "In ''Children of Dune'', Leto II allowed sandtrout to attach themselves to his body, and this was based in part upon my father’s own experiences as a boy growing up in [[Washington (state)|Washington state]], when he rolled up his trousers and waded into a stream or lake, permitting [[leech]]es to attach themselves to his legs."<ref name="Dune Afterword 878">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Afterword by Brian Herbert |year=1965 |edition=Kindle |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |page=875}}</ref>
[[John Schoenherr]] provided the earliest artwork for the ''Dune'' series, including the illustrations in the initial pulp magazine serial and the cover of the first hardcover edition. Frank Herbert was very pleased with Schoenherr's art,<ref name="Genesis">{{cite web|last=Herbert|first=Frank|url=http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |title=''Dune'' Genesis|access-date=March 21, 2019 |via=FrankHerbert.org|work=[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]|date=July 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107220342/http://www.frankherbert.org/news/genesis.html |archive-date=January 7, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and remarked that he was "the only man who has ever visited Dune".<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Interview with Frank Herbert|title=The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|publisher=[[Viking Press]]|date=1988}}</ref> Schoenherr gave the sandworm three triangular lobes that form the lips of its mouth. This design was referenced for the sandworm puppets that appeared in the [[Dune (1984 film)|1984 movie adaptation of ''Dune'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://monsterlegacy.net/2014/04/28/dune-sandworms-arrakis/|title=Sandworms of Arrakis|date=April 28, 2014|publisher=MonsterLegacy.net|access-date=July 9, 2017|archive-date=January 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116022650/https://monsterlegacy.net/2014/04/28/dune-sandworms-arrakis/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Description==
[[File:Heretics of Dune cover-Sandworm & Sheeana.jpg|thumb|upright|A sandworm from the cover of ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984)]]
Sandworms are giant creatures found only on the [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]]. They are reverently called Shai-Hulud by the planet's indigenous [[Fremen]], who worship them as agents of God whose actions are a form of divine intervention.<ref name="SR 2021"/><ref name="Nerdist 2020">{{Cite web|url=https://nerdist.com/article/dune-sandworm-explained/|title=What You Need to Know About ''Dune''{{'s}} Sandworms|website=[[Nerdist (website)|Nerdist]]|first=Lindsey|last=Romain|date=May 21, 2020|access-date=May 22, 2020|archive-date=May 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530151413/https://nerdist.com/article/dune-sandworm-explained/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Fremen also refer to the sandworms as Makers.
===Physiology===
Herbert describes sandworms as colossal terrestrial [[annelids]] with features of the [[lamprey]]. They have an array of [[crystalline]] teeth which are used primarily for rasping rocks and sand. During his first close encounter with a sandworm in ''Dune'', Paul notes, "Its mouth was some eighty meters in diameter{{nbsp}}... crystal teeth with the curved shape of [[crysknife|crysknives]] glinting around the rim{{nbsp}}... the bellows breath of [[cinnamon]], subtle [[aldehyde]]s{{nbsp}}... [[acid]]s{{nbsp}}..."<ref name="Dune"/>
Sandworms grow to hundreds of meters in length, with specimens observed over {{convert|400|m}} long<ref name="Shai-Hulud">{{ cite book | last = Herbert | first = Frank | author-link = Frank Herbert | year = 1965 | title = [[Dune (novel)|Dune]] | chapter = Terminology of the Imperium (Shai-Hulud)}}</ref><ref>Herbert, Frank (1965). ''Dune''. "Worms of more than four hundred meters in length have been recorded by reliable witnesses, and there's reason to believe even larger ones exist."</ref> and {{convert|40|m}} in diameter, although Paul becomes a sandrider by summoning a worm that "appeared to be" around half a [[League (unit)|league]] ({{convert|1.5|mi|km}}) or more in length.<ref>{{cite book | last = Herbert | first = Frank | title = Dune | orig-year = 1965 | year = 1987 | publisher = [[Ace Books]] | isbn = 0-441-17266-0 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/dune000herb/page/391 391] | quote = It [the sandworm] appeared to be more than half a league long, and the rise of the sandwave at its cresting head was like the approach of a mountain. | url = https://archive.org/details/dune000herb/page/391 }}</ref> These gigantic worms burrow deep in the ground and travel swiftly; "most of the sand on Arrakis is credited to sandworm action".<ref name="Shai-Hulud"/>
Sandworms are described as "incredibly tough" by [[Liet-Kynes]], who further notes that "high-voltage electrical shock applied separately to each ring segment" is the only known way to kill and preserve them; [[atomics (Dune)|atomics]] are the only explosive powerful enough to kill an entire worm, with conventional explosives being unfeasible as "each ring segment has a life of its own".<ref>Herbert, Frank. ''Dune''. "High voltage electrical shock applied separately to each ring segment is the only known way of killing and preserving an entire worm," Kynes said. "They can be stunned and shattered by explosives, but each ring segment has a life of its own. Barring atomics, I know of no explosive powerful enough to destroy a large worm entirely. They're incredibly tough."</ref> Water is poisonous to the worms,<ref name="Shai-Hulud"/> but it is in too short supply on Arrakis to be of use against any but the smallest of them.
===Life cycle===
Herbert notes in ''Dune'' that microscopic creatures called '''sand plankton''' feed upon traces of [[Melange (Dune)|melange]] scattered by sandworms on the Arrakeen sands.<ref name="Appendix I">{{cite book|first=Herbert|last=Frank|title=Dune|date=1965|chapter=Appendix I: The Ecology of Dune'}}</ref> The sand plankton are food for the giant sandworms, but also grow and burrow to become what the Fremen call '''Little Makers''', "the half-plant-half-animal deep-sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm".<ref>{{cite book|first=Herbert|last=Frank|title=Dune|date=1965|chapter=Terminology of the Imperium (Little Maker)}}</ref>
Their leathery remains previously having "been ascribed to a fictional {{'}}'''sandtrout'''{{'}} in Fremen folk stories", Imperial Planetologist [[Pardot Kynes]] had discovered the Little Makers during his ecological investigations of the planet, deducing their existence before he actually found one.<ref name="Appendix I"/> Kynes determines that these "sandtrout" block off water "into fertile pockets within the porous lower strata below the 280° ([[thermodynamic temperature|absolute]]) line",<ref name="Appendix I"/> and [[Alia Atreides]] notes in ''[[Children of Dune]]'' that the "sandtrout, when linked edge to edge against the planet's bedrock, formed living cisterns".<ref name="Children">{{cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|date=1976|title=[[Children of Dune]]|publisher=Berkley Publishing Corporation |isbn=0-399-11697-4}}.</ref> The Fremen themselves protect their water supplies with "predator fish" that attack invading sandtrout.<ref name="Children"/> Sandtrout can be lured by small traces of water, and Fremen children catch and play with them; smoothing one over the hand forms a "living glove" until the creature is repelled by something in the "blood's water" and falls off.<ref name="Children"/> [[Leto II Atreides|Leto II]] says in ''Children of Dune'':
{{Blockquote|The sandtrout{{nbsp}}... was introduced here from some other place. This was a wet planet then. They proliferated beyond the capability of existing ecosystems to deal with them. Sandtrout encysted the available free water, made this a desert planet{{nbsp}}... and they did it to survive. In a planet sufficiently dry, they could move to their sandworm phase.<ref name="Children"/>}}
The sandtrout are described as "flat and leathery" in ''Children of Dune'', with Leto II noting that they are "roughly diamond-shaped" with "no head, no extremities, no eyes" and "coarse interlacings of extruded [[Cilium|cilia]]".<ref name="Children"/> They can find water unerringly, and squeezing the sandtrout yields a "sweet green syrup".<ref name="Children"/> When water is flooded into the sandtrout's excretions, a [[pre-spice mass]] is formed; at this "stage of fungusoid wild growth", gases are produced which result in "a characteristic 'blow', exchanging the material from deep underground for the matter on the surface above it".<ref name="Nerdist 2020"/><ref name="Mass">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Pre-spice Mass |year=1965 }}</ref> After exposure to sun and air, this mass becomes melange.<ref name="Mass" /><ref name="Nerdist 2020"/>
Kynes' "water stealers" die "by the millions in each [[spice blow]]" and may be killed by even a "five-degree change in temperature".<ref name="Appendix I"/> He notes that "the few survivors entered a semidormant cyst-hibernation to emerge in six years as small (about three meters long) sandworms".<ref name="Appendix I"/> A small number of these then emerge into maturity as giant sandworms, to whom water is poisonous.<ref name="Nerdist 2020"/><ref name="Shai-Hulud"/><ref name="Appendix I"/> A "stunted worm" is a "primitive form{{nbsp}}... that reaches a length of only about nine meters". Their drowning by the Fremen makes them expel the awareness-spectrum narcotic known as the [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]].<ref name="Appendix I"/>
While sandworms are capable of eating humans, the latter do contain a level of water beyond the preferred tolerances of the worms. They routinely devour melange-harvesting equipment—mistaking the mechanical rhythm for prey—but they seem to derive actual nutrition only from sand plankton and smaller sandworms, and have no actual interest in the spice. Sandworms will also not attack sandtrout.
===Behavior and function===
In ''Dune'', the desert of Arrakis is the only known source of the spice melange, the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe. Used as a drug, melange lengthens life span, increases vitality, and heightens awareness. It can also unlock [[prescience (Dune)|prescience]] in some subjects, which makes safe and accurate interstellar travel possible. The harvesting of melange is therefore essential, but is also a highly dangerous undertaking due to the presence of sandworms. Rhythmic activity as minimal as normal walking on the desert surface of Arrakis attracts the [[Territory (animal)|territorial]] worms, which are capable of swallowing even the largest mining equipment whole.<ref name="SR 2021"/> They are an accepted obstacle to spice mining, as any attempt to exterminate them would be prohibitively expensive, if not entirely futile. Harvesting is done by a gigantic machine called a [[Harvester (Dune)|Harvester]], which is carried to and from a spice blow by a larger craft called a [[Carryall (Dune)|Carryall]]. The Harvester on the ground has four scouting ornithopters patrolling around it watching for '''wormsign''', the motions of sand which indicate that a worm is coming. Melange is collected from the open sand until a worm is close, at which time the Carryall lifts the Harvester to safety. The Fremen, who base their entire industry around the sale of spice and the manufacture of materials out of spice, have learned to co-exist with the sandworms in the desert and harvest the spice manually for their own use and for [[smuggling]] off-planet.
Due to their size and territorial nature, sandworms can be extremely dangerous, even to Fremen. The worms are attracted to—and maddened by—the presence of [[Holtzman shield|Holtzman force fields]] used as personal defense shields, and as a result these shields are of little use on Arrakis. In ''Children of Dune'' it is noted that a weapon has been developed on Arrakis called a "pseudo-shield".<ref name="Children"/> This device will attract and enrage any nearby sandworm, which will destroy anything in its vicinity.<ref name="Children"/> The Fremen manage to develop a unique relationship with the sandworms. They learn to avoid most worm attacks by mimicking the motions of desert animals, moving with the natural sounds of the desert rather than rhythmic vibrations. However, they also develop a device known as a [[Thumper (Dune)|thumper]] with the express purpose of generating a rhythmic [[oscillation|vibration]] to attract a sandworm. This can be used either as a diversion or to summon a worm to ride.
The Fremen have secretly mastered a way to ride sandworms across the desert.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/dune-sandworm-vfx/|title=How the ''Dune'' VFX and Sound Teams Made Sandworms From Scratch|first=Angela|last=Watercutter|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=October 25, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2021|archive-date=October 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025111143/https://www.wired.com/story/dune-sandworm-vfx/|url-status=live}}</ref> First, a worm is lured by the vibrations of a thumper device. When it surfaces, the lead worm-rider runs alongside it and snares one of its ring-segments with a special "maker hook". The hook is used to pry open the segment, exposing the soft inner tissue to the abrasive sand. To avoid irritation, the worm will rotate its body so the exposed flesh faces upwards, lifting the rider with it. Other Fremen may then plant additional hooks for steering, or act as "[[Whip|beaters]]", hitting the worm's tail to make it increase speed. A worm can be ridden for several hundred kilometers and for about half a day, at which point it will become exhausted and sit on the open desert until the hooks are released, whereupon it will burrow back down to rest. Worm-riding is used as a [[coming of age|coming-of-age ritual]] among the Fremen, and Paul's riding and controlling a giant sandworm cements him as a Fremen leader.<ref name="Touponce 18-19">{{cite book|last=Touponce |first=William F. |year=1988 |title=Frank Herbert |chapter=''Dune'': Herbert's Polyphonic Novel |___location=Boston, Massachusetts |publisher=Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co |pages=18–19 |isbn=0-8057-7514-5 }}</ref> Paul also uses worms for troop transport into the city during the Battle of [[Arrakeen]] after using [[Atomics (Dune)|atomic weapons]] to blow a hole in the Shield Wall. After the reign of Leto II, sandworms become un-rideable. The one exception is a young girl named [[Sheeana]], an Atreides descendant who possesses a unique ability to control the worms and safely move around them.
Fremen also use the sharp teeth of dead sandworms to produce the sacred knives they call [[crysknife|crysknives]]. Approximately {{convert|20|cm|in|0}} long, these hand-to-hand weapons are either "fixed" or "unfixed". An unfixed knife requires proximity to a human body's electrical field to prevent its eventual disintegration, while fixed knives are treated for storage.<ref name="Crys">Herbert, Frank. ''Dune'', ''Terminology of the Imperium'' (Crysknife).</ref> Fremen tradition dictates that once a crysknife is drawn, it must not be sheathed until it has drawn blood.<ref name="Dune"/>
==Storylines==
===Original series===
By the time of the events of ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965), humans have been harvesting melange from Arrakis for several thousand years. The indigenous Fremen regard the sandworms as divine, but to everyone else, they are just deadly pests. Few people understand the sandworms' connection to the spice.<ref name="Dune"/> This is no longer the case by the time of ''[[Children of Dune]]'' (1976), and numerous groups attempt to smuggle sandworms off Arrakis and transplant them to other planets so as to break the Atreides' monopoly on spice production.
In ''Children of Dune'', Leto II consumes massive amounts of spice and allows many sandtrout to cover his body, the concentration of spice in his blood fooling them. This layer gives Leto tremendous strength, speed, and protection from mature sandworms, which mistake his sandtrout-covered body for a lethal mass of water.<ref name="Children"/> He calls it a "living, self-repairing [[stillsuit]] of a sandtrout membrane", and soon notes that he is "no longer human".<ref name="Children"/>
Gradually over the next 3,500 years, Leto not only survives, but also is transformed into a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] of human and giant sandworm. By the time of ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), he has exterminated all other sandworms, and his own transformation has modified his component sandtrout. When Leto allows himself to be assassinated, the sandtrout release themselves to begin the sandworm lifecycle anew; subsequent offspring are tougher and more adaptable than their predecessors, allowing them to ultimately be more easily settled on other worlds, thus ensuring the survival of the sandworm species. Each one, according to Leto, carries in it a tiny pearl of his consciousness, trapped forever in an unending prescient dream.<ref name="God Emperor">Herbert, Frank (1981). ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]''. {{ISBN|0-575-02976-5}}.</ref>
Over the next 1500 years, Arrakis (now called Rakis) is returned to a desert by the thriving sandworm cycle. [[Bene Gesserit]] Mother Superior [[Taraza (Dune)|Taraza]] becomes aware in ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984) that humanity is being limited by the prescient dream of Leto, and controlled by him through his worm remnants. She engineers the destruction of Rakis by the [[Honored Matre]]s to free humanity, leaving one remaining worm to start the cycle anew. Taraza is killed; her successor [[Darwi Odrade]] takes the worm to Chapterhouse. She submerges it in a spice bath to generate sandtrout, with the goal of [[terraforming]] their own planet [[Chapterhouse (Dune)|Chapterhouse]] into another Dune, and later doing the same on other planets, with new worms and infinite potential for gathering spice.
===Prequels and sequels===
<!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[Seaworm]] -->
In the ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] (1999–2004), the Tleilaxu initiate [[Project Amal]], an early attempt to create synthetic melange to eliminate dependence upon Arrakis. They are fundamentally unaware, however, that melange production is part of the sandworm lifecycle, and the project is an abysmal failure.
In ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'', Brian Herbert and Anderson's 2007 conclusion to the original series, the [[Spacing Guild]] is manipulated into replacing its [[Guild Navigator|Navigators]] with [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] navigation devices and cutting off the Navigators' supply of melange. Sure to die should they be without the spice, a group of Navigators commissions [[Tylwyth Waff|Waff]], an imperfectly awakened Tleilaxu [[ghola]], to create "advanced" sandworms able to produce the melange they so desperately require. He accomplishes this by altering the [[DNA]] of the sandtrout stage and creating an aquatic form of the worms, which are then released into the oceans of [[Buzzell (Dune)|Buzzell]]. Adapting to their new environment, these '''seaworms''' quickly flourish, eventually producing a highly concentrated form of spice, dubbed "[[ultraspice]]". Meanwhile, sandworms are revealed to have survived the devastation of Rakis after all, by burrowing deep under the surface.
==In adaptations==
===''Dune'' (1984)===
In the 1984 [[David Lynch]] film ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'', the sandworms were designed by special effects modeler [[Carlo Rambaldi]] for a budgeted $2 million.<ref name="AFI">{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67647|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|title=''Dune''|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320200559/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67647|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Harmetz">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/04/movies/the-world-of-dune-is-filmed-in-mexico.html |title=The World of ''Dune'' Is Filmed in Mexico |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Aljean |last=Harmetz |date=September 4, 1983 |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=November 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101030112/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/04/movies/the-world-of-dune-is-filmed-in-mexico.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Rambaldi had previously created the titular alien for the 1982 film ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]''.<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="Harmetz"/> The [[blue screen technology|blue screen]] constructed for ''Dune''{{'s}} special effects was thirty-five feet (11 m) high and 108 feet (33 m) wide, the largest at that time.<ref name="AFI"/> The sandworms were achieved using [[practical effect]] models, miniature sets and blue screens.<ref name="Duneinfo.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.duneinfo.com/arrakis/sandworms |title=Sandworms |website=Dune: Behind the Scenes |via=Duneinfo.com |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320205048/http://www.duneinfo.com/arrakis/sandworms |url-status=live }}</ref> Several scales of sandworm models were created, operated by "worm wranglers" and pulled with cables to simulate motion.<ref name="Duneinfo.com"/> The largest models, which were approximately 20 feet (7 m) long, allowed for wranglers to open the worms' mouths and crane their bodies up and down and from side to side.<ref name="Duneinfo.com"/> The smaller versions were used for other movements, and for background action.<ref name="Duneinfo.com"/>
Critics were generally not impressed with the film's effects.<ref name="Atlantic">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-messy-misunderstood-glory-of-david-lynchs-em-dune-em/284316/|title=The Messy, Misunderstood Glory of David Lynch's ''Dune''|first=Daniel D.|last=Snyder|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=March 14, 2014|access-date=May 22, 2020|archive-date=March 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314222520/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-messy-misunderstood-glory-of-david-lynchs-em-dune-em/284316/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DB">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/reviews2/dunesescifi.html|title=DVD Review - ''Frank Herbert's Dune'': Special Edition - Director's Cut|first=Bill|last=Hunt|date=May 22, 2002|access-date=February 1, 2019|website=The Digital Bits|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320221400/http://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/reviews2/dunesescifi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] called Lynch's sandworms "striking", but noted, "the movie's special effects don't stand up to scrutiny. The heads of the sand worms begin to look more and more as if they came out of the same factory that produced Kermit the Frog (they have the same mouths)."<ref name="Ebert 1984">{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19840101/REVIEWS/401010332/1023 |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Movie Reviews: ''Dune'' (1984) |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |via=RogerEbert.SunTimes.com |access-date=March 14, 2010 |date=January 1, 1984 |archive-date=November 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118033336/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19840101/REVIEWS/401010332/1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'s}} Sandra P. Angulo called the sandworms "embarrassingly phallic looking".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2000/12/01/dune-gets-tv-remake-and-reaches-new-fans/|title=''Dune'' gets a TV remake and reaches for new fans|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Sandra P.|last=Angulo|date=December 1, 2000|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320223108/https://ew.com/article/2000/12/01/dune-gets-tv-remake-and-reaches-new-fans/|url-status=live}}</ref> Daniel D. Snyder of ''[[The Atlantic]]'' was impressed by the "gargantuan" appearance of the sandworms thanks to the "staggering sense of scale" achieved by the miniature sets created by [[Emilio Ruiz del Río]].<ref name="Atlantic"/> Though panning the film overall, [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted the "nice worm-fight at the end of the story."<ref name="NYT 1984-12">{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F06E2D71238F937A25751C1A962948260|title=Movie Review: ''Dune'' (1984)|last=Maslin|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Maslin|date=December 14, 1984|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-date=March 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311010339/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F06E2D71238F937A25751C1A962948260|url-status=live}}</ref> Hoai-Tran Bui of ''[[slashfilm|/Film]]'' noted that "the popular image of the sandworm comes from David Lynch's 1984 film, which depicted the massive creatures as fleshy, phallic-looking monsters."<ref name="Slashfilm sandworms">{{Cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/dune-sandworms-design-denis-villeneuve/|title=''Dune'' Director Denis Villeneuve Spent a Year Perfecting the Sandworm Design|date=May 19, 2020|website=[[slashfilm|/Film]]|first=Hoai-Tran|last=Bui|access-date=May 22, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520185529/https://www.slashfilm.com/dune-sandworms-design-denis-villeneuve/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''Dune'' (2000) and ''Children of Dune'' (2003)===
The 2000 [[Sci Fi Channel]] miniseries ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'', and the 2003 sequel miniseries ''[[Frank Herbert's Children of Dune]]'', employed [[computer-generated imagery|computer-generated visual effects]] to create sandworms onscreen,<ref name="NYT Berger">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/tv/cover-story-where-spice-of-life-is-the-vital-variety.html |title=Cover Story: Where Spice of Life Is the Vital Variety |last=Berger |first=Warren |date=March 16, 2003 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327092759/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/tv/cover-story-where-spice-of-life-is-the-vital-variety.html |url-status=live }}</ref> under the guidance of special effects supervisor Ernest Farino.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/sci-fi-doing-dune-mini-1117758232/|title=Sci-Fi doing ''Dune'' mini|first=Paula|last=Bernstein|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 19, 1999|access-date=February 21, 2019|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308022411/https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/sci-fi-doing-dune-mini-1117758232/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Variety CoD">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/reviews/children-of-dune-1200542893/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821193344/http://variety.com/2003/tv/reviews/children-of-dune-1200542893/ |title=Review: ''Children of Dune'' |first=Laura |last=Fries |work=Variety |date=March 11, 2003 |access-date=August 21, 2015 |archive-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>
Critics praised the visual effects in both miniseries,<ref name="NYT Berger"/><ref name="Variety CoD"/><ref name="Tor.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2017/05/09/syfys-dune-miniseries-is-the-most-okay-adaptation-of-the-book-to-date/|title=Syfy's ''Dune'' Miniseries is the Most Okay Adaptation of the Book to Date|first=Emmet|last=Asher-Perrin|date=May 9, 2017|website=[[Tor.com]]|access-date=February 20, 2019|archive-date=February 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074241/https://www.tor.com/2017/05/09/syfys-dune-miniseries-is-the-most-okay-adaptation-of-the-book-to-date/|url-status=live}}</ref> each of which won a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects|Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2001?page=8|title=Nominees/Winners (Outstanding Special Visual Effects)|publisher=[[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]]|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419082856/https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2001?page=8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2003?page=8|title=Nominees/Winners (Outstanding Special Visual Effects)|publisher=National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305174747/https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2003?page=8|url-status=live}}</ref> Deborah D. McAdams of ''[[Broadcasting & Cable]]'' suggested that the images of "gigantic computer-generated sandworms munching down huge machines and people like popcorn" contributed to the 2000 miniseries' record-breaking ratings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/dune-does-it-sci-fi-95665|title=''Dune'' does it for Sci Fi|first=Deborah D.|last=McAdams|website=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|date=December 10, 2000|access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320223108/https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/dune-does-it-sci-fi-95665|url-status=live}}</ref>
===''Dune'' (2021) and ''Dune: Part Two'' (2024)===
Regarding his 2021 film ''[[Dune (2021 film)|Dune]]'', director [[Denis Villeneuve]] said:
{{blockquote|I kept saying to Patrice Vermette, my production designer, "I want the worm to be like a prehistoric creature, something that has been living and evolving for 100,000 years." We needed a beast that can survive a harsh and brutal environment. We were thinking about how thick the skin should be, how the mouth should close to travel in the sand. But more important, we were talking about, how does it feed? We had the idea that it would be a bit like a whale: It would need some kind of filter system to be able to capture nutrients in the sand—this idea of the baleen ... It's an anatomic detail that's very grounded in the world and in the ecosystem. And it also allowed me to create this idea that when you look into a worm's mouth, it looks like an eye. It has this feeling of the presence of a god.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/denis-villeneuve-dune-interview-sandworms-and-sequels.html|title=Denis Villeneuve Looks Forward to Working with Sandworms Again in the Future|first=Nate|last=Jones|date=October 26, 2021|website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]|access-date=November 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=November 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112215145/https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/denis-villeneuve-dune-interview-sandworms-and-sequels.html}}</ref>}}
VFX production supervisor Paul Lambert explained, "We spent more time working out the animation around the worm than the worm itself [with its large mouth and teeth]. You see the destruction that it creates. We spent time trying to find references of how sand can be displaced so we could copy that."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/11/dune-denis-villeneuves-vfx-sandworms-ornithopters-1234676083/|title=''Dune'': How Denis Villeneuve's VFX Team Created Desert Power for the Sandworms and Ornithopters|first1=Bill|last1=Desowitz|website=[[IndieWire]]|date=November 5, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105222623/https://www.indiewire.com/2021/11/dune-denis-villeneuves-vfx-sandworms-ornithopters-1234676083/}}</ref>
===Video games===
Besides film and television adaptations, the ''Dune'' franchise has been adapted into a series of [[Dune computer and video games|computer and video games]] in which sandworms play a part. Sandworms are a featured element in the 1992 [[real-time strategy]] video game ''[[Dune II|Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/real_time/p2_02.html |title=A History of Real-Time Strategy Games: ''Dune II'' |first=Bruce |last=Geryk |date=May 19, 2008|access-date=May 22, 2020|website=[[GameSpot]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131011206/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/real_time/p2_02.html|archive-date=January 31, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> primarily as destroyers of the player's spice Harvesters, assault tanks, and other equipment.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cirulis |first=Martin E. |date=February 1994 |title=The Year The Stars Fell |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=115 |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |page=96 |access-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003001602/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=115 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://classicreload.com/dune-ii-the-building-of-a-dynasty.html|title=''Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty''|date=February 17, 2014|website=ClassicReload.com|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=September 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921074934/https://classicreload.com/dune-ii-the-building-of-a-dynasty.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the game, sandworms are computer-controlled forces that lie dormant under the sand until either player- or computer-controlled units come within range, and they will attack indiscriminately.<ref name="Insider">{{cite book|url=http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/manuals/Dune%20II/Dune%20II%20-%20Insider%27s%20Guide.pdf|title=Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty Insider's Guide|date=1992|publisher=[[Westwood Studios]]|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108100330/http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/manuals/Dune%20II/Dune%20II%20-%20Insider%27s%20Guide.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-03-13-why-i-love-dune-ii-the-battle-for-arrakis|title=''Dune II'' and the three rules of a good licensed game|website=GamesIndustry.biz|first=Tomas|last=Rawlings|date=March 13, 2018|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810121227/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-03-13-why-i-love-dune-ii-the-battle-for-arrakis|url-status=live}}</ref> The sandworms can be damaged or destroyed by sonic blasts, a Death Hand explosion, a detonated Spice Bloom, or a self-destructing Devastator, and will disappear when they have been destroyed, reduced to half health, or have eaten three units.<ref name="Insider"/> Sandworms do not appear until the third missions, and there may be two or three in play at once.<ref name="Insider"/> Sandworms also appear in ''[[Dune 2000]]'' (1998). They behave somewhat differently than in the previous game, and are present from the first mission. Sandworms will disappear temporarily after devouring five vehicles, but eventually return.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://manualmachine.com/gamespc/dune2000/1119723-user-manual/|title=''Dune 2000'' (PC) User Manual|website=Manual Machine|access-date=May 24, 2020|url-access=registration|archive-date=August 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815175543/https://manualmachine.com/gamespc/dune2000/1119723-user-manual/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dune-2000|title=''Dune 2000'' for Windows (1998)|website=[[MobyGames]]|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516144342/https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dune-2000|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westwood.com/games/dune2000/press.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000930035519/http://www.westwood.com/games/dune2000/press.html|title=Press release: ''Dune 2000''|date=January 15, 1998|via=Westwood.com|publisher=Westwood Studios|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2000|access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dune-2000-review/1900-2540099/|title=''Dune 2000'' Review|website=GameSpot|first=Greg|last=Kasavin|date=September 15, 1998|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=October 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010223340/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dune-2000-review/1900-2540099/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/09/17/dune-2000-2|title=''Dune 2000'': Sure this remake looks great, but the gameplay's not worth its weight in sand.|website=[[IGN]]|author=''IGN'' Staff|date=September 16, 1998|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129030812/https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/09/17/dune-2000-2|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Emperor: Battle for Dune]]'' (2001) features gameplay on four planets, and sandworms are a hazard on Arrakis. Players must also destroy a genetically engineered "Emperor Worm" to complete the game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://manualmachine.com/gamespc/emperorbattlefordune/1119658-user-manual/|title=''Emperor: Battle for Dune'' (PC) User Manual|website=Manual Machine|access-date=May 24, 2020|url-access=registration|archive-date=August 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815175533/https://manualmachine.com/gamespc/emperorbattlefordune/1119432-user-manual/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/emperor-battle-for-dune|title=''Emperor: Battle for Dune'' for Windows (2001)|website=MobyGames|access-date=May 24, 2020|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516134131/https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/emperor-battle-for-dune|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/emperor-battle-for-dune-review/1900-2774894/|title=''Emperor: Battle for Dune'' Review|website=GameSpot|first=Greg|last=Kasavin|date=May 17, 2006|access-date=May 24, 2020|archive-date=January 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118021638/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/emperor-battle-for-dune-review/1900-2774894/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/14/emperor-battle-for-dune|title=''Emperor: Battle for Dune'': Westwood makes the jump to 3D with generally pleasing results|website=IGN|author=''IGN'' Staff|date=June 14, 2001|access-date=May 24, 2020|archive-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520022438/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/06/14/emperor-battle-for-dune|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Merchandising==
A line of ''Dune'' action figures from toy company [[LJN]] was released to lackluster sales in 1984. Styled after David Lynch's film, the collection included a poseable sandworm.<ref name="Nerd Bastards toys">{{Cite web|url=https://nerdbastards.com/2014/01/12/toys-we-miss-dune/|title=Toys We Miss: The Long Forgotten Figures From Frank Herbert's ''Dune''|first=James|last=Daniels|website=Nerd Bastards|date=January 12, 2014|access-date=October 30, 2019|archive-date=January 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127111043/http://nerdbastards.com/2014/01/12/toys-we-miss-dune/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Collectors toys">{{Cite web|url=https://www.collectorsofdune.com/toys.asp|title=Toys|website=Collectors of Dune|access-date=October 30, 2019|archive-date=October 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030152955/https://www.collectorsofdune.com/toys.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Revell]] also produced a model kit of a sandworm complete with figures representing Fremen riders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-1778-sandworm--370853|title=''Dune'' Sandworm|publisher=[[Revell]]|date=1985|website=ScaleMates|access-date=2020-05-23|archive-date=2022-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807191856/https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-1778-sandworm--370853|url-status=live}}</ref> For the 2024 release of Denis Villeneuve's ''[[Dune: Part Two]]'', [[AMC Theatres]] introduced a popcorn bucket with the likeness of the giant sandworm, featuring a lid with flexible plastic "teeth" that appear to consume the moviegoer's hand as they reach in.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why is the ''Dune 2'' popcorn bucket going viral?|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240304-why-is-the-dune-2-popcorn-bucket-so-immensely-popular|date=March 4, 2024|first=Sarah|last=Bregel|access-date=May 17, 2024|website=[[BBC]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=March 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326050524/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240304-why-is-the-dune-2-popcorn-bucket-so-immensely-popular|url-status=live}}</ref> The bucket was satirized by ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and on social media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=''Saturday Night Live'' Hilariously Falls Head Over Heels for That Wild, Viral ''Dune 2'' Popcorn Bucket|url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/watch-the-dune-popcorn-bucket-sketch-on-saturday-night-live|date=February 5, 2024|first=Benjamin|last=Bullard|access-date=December 1, 2024|website=[[NBC]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206105809/https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/watch-the-dune-popcorn-bucket-sketch-on-saturday-night-live |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Impact and analysis==
The sandworms have been called "iconic" to the franchise,<ref name="Nerdist 2020"/><ref name="Atlantic"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-it-took-a-year-to-perfect-the-sandworm-design-for-the-new-movie|title=''Dune'': It Took a Year to Perfect the Sandworm Design for the New Movie|website=[[IGN]]|first=Jim|last=Vejvoda|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526203147/https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-it-took-a-year-to-perfect-the-sandworm-design-for-the-new-movie|url-status=live}}</ref> and "synonymous with the ''Dune'' series", having appeared in nearly every novel, on several book covers, and in all of the television, film, and video game adaptations.<ref name="Slashfilm sandworms"/> Hoai-Tran Bui of ''/Film'' noted that they are an "essential to the narrative of the story",<ref name="Slashfilm sandworms"/> and Lindsey Romain of ''[[Nerdist (website)|Nerdist]]'' deemed the creatures "extremely important to the plot and the very fiber of the ''Dune'' universe."<ref name="Nerdist 2020"/> Bella Ross of ''[[Screen Rant]]'' called the sandworms "the embodiment of the perils of colonization."<ref name="SR 2021"/>
William Touponce suggests that Herbert's depiction of larval sandworms (or sandtrout), which hold back water in the desert to maintain the arid conditions their sandworm vector requires to thrive, is "an analogy for a stage of consciousness [Paul's sister] [[Alia Atreides|Alia]] can feel. Some of the ancestral voices within her mind hold back dangerous forces that could destroy her."<ref name="Touponce 18-19"/> Touponce also describes "the archetypal terrors of confronting Shai-Hulud, the giant sandworm guarding the treasure".<ref name="Touponce 27">{{cite book|last=Touponce |first=William F. |year=1988 |title=Frank Herbert |chapter=''Dune'': Herbert's Polyphonic Novel |pages=27 |publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=0-8057-7514-5 }}</ref>
Sibylle Hechtel analyzes the concept of sandworms in the essay "The Biology of the Sandworm" in ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2008).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/mar/14/exploring-duniverse-of-frank-herbert/ |title=Review: Exploring Frank Herbert's 'Duniverse' |access-date=March 19, 2008 |last=Evans |first=Clay |date=March 14, 2008 |via=DailyCamera.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080319013644/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/mar/14/exploring-duniverse-of-frank-herbert/ |archive-date = March 19, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.benbellabooks.com/shop/the-biology-of-the-sandworm/ |title=The Biology of the Sandworm |first=Sibylle |last=Hechtel |publisher=[[BenBella Books]] |access-date=April 23, 2019 |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423171404/https://www.benbellabooks.com/shop/the-biology-of-the-sandworm/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Kevin R.|editor-last=Grazier|editor-link=Kevin Grazier|title=[[The Science of Dune]]: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science Behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe|series=Psychology of Popular Culture|year=2008|___location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[BenBella Books]]|isbn=978-1-933771-28-1|chapter=The Biology of the Sandworm|author1-first=Sibylle|author1-last=Hechtel|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/29 29–47]}}</ref>
The American [[metalcore]] band [[Shai Hulud]], founded in 1995, takes their name from the sandworms of the Dune franchise. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-10 |title=Shai Hulud |url=https://hulud.com/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Shai Hulud |language=en-US}}</ref>
A [[Sandworm (hacker group)|hacker group]] responsible for several major [[cyberattack]]s in the 2010s named itself Sandworm, in reference to the fictional organism.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-01-08|title=U.S. firm blames Russian 'Sandworm' hackers for Ukraine outage|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-cybersecurity-sandworm-idUSKBN0UM00N20160108|access-date=2022-01-20|archive-date=2017-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623070812/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-cybersecurity-sandworm-idUSKBN0UM00N20160108|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Review {{!}} The ruthless Russian hacking unit that tried to crash Ukraine|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-ruthless-russian-hacking-unit-that-tried-to-crash-ukraine/2019/12/26/beaf477a-1470-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html|access-date=2022-01-20|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2021-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320093245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-ruthless-russian-hacking-unit-that-tried-to-crash-ukraine/2019/12/26/beaf477a-1470-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In August 2023, [[University of Kansas]] paleontologist Rhiannon LaVine named a newly-discovered, 500-million-year-old marine [[polychaete]] worm ''[[Shaihuludia shurikeni]]'' after Herbert's fictional sandworms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/06/us/university-of-kansas-sea-worm-dune-trnd/index.html|title=Researcher Names recently Discovered 500-million-year-old Sea Worm after ''Dune'' Monster|first=Ashley R.|last=Williams|date=August 6, 2023|website=[[CNN]]|access-date=August 9, 2023|archive-date=August 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808150329/https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/06/us/university-of-kansas-sea-worm-dune-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2196685|title=Annelids from the Cambrian (Wuliuan Stage, Miaolingian) Spence Shale Lagerstätte of northern Utah, USA|first1=Julien|last1=Kimmig|first2=Rhiannon J.|last2=LaVine|first3=James D.|last3=Schiffbauer|first4=Sven O.|last4=Egenhoff|first5=Kevin L.|last5=Shelton|first6=Wade W.|last6=Leibach|date=May 3, 2024|journal=Historical Biology|volume=36|issue=5|pages=934–943|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/08912963.2023.2196685|access-date=May 17, 2024|archive-date=August 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805134944/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2196685|url-status=live|pmc=11114447}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Graboid]]
* [[Mongolian death worm]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|author=Brian Herbert|year=2003|title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9781429958448|ref=refHerbert2003}}
* {{cite book|date=1987|title=The Maker of Dune: Thoughts of a Science Fiction Master|editor=Tim O'Reilly|isbn=0425097854|publisher=[[Berkley Books]]}}
==External links==
* Systematic Schema: [https://www.schematax.org/schemata/herbert/schematax_herbert_dune-ecological-cycle.pdf Ecological Cycle(s): Sandworm-Sandtrout, Spice, Water]
{{Dune franchise}}
[[Category:Dune (franchise)]]
[[Category:Fictional dragons]]
[[Category:Fictional worms]]
[[Category:Fictional extraterrestrial species and races]]
[[Category:Fictional monsters]]
[[Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1965]]
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