Sand dunes have become a major part of modern popular film and literature. Sometimes to portray another planet or at other times to be part of a desert setting on a more early set.
Dune by Frank Herbert
In 1957, Frank Herbert came to Florence Oregon intending to write an article documenting the spreading of the coastal Oregon dunes into the city. In the early 20th century, the town of Florence was slowly being consumed by the nearby dunes as they blew across the town slowly engulfing road, train tracks, and even homes.
Herbert researched desert ecosystems and sand dunes further and this inspired him to write the epic 1965 science fiction novel "Dune" which tells the story of a future civilization fighting over control of natural resources on a harsh desert planet known as Arrakis which carries the nickname of Dune.
Frank Herbert's novels spawned subsequent novels and major film adaptations.
The 1984 film adaptation is filmed primarily in northern Mexico in the Pinacate and Grand Desert of Altar in Sonora Mexico.
The 2021 film adaptation and it's sequel were filmed in Jordan, The United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi.
Star Wars
Most of the iconic desert scenes in early Star Wars films were filmed in Tunisia. Even the name of the fictional planet was borrowed from a real Tunisian town called Tataouine. In addition, Golden Canyon, Dante's View, and Desolation Canyon all within Death Valley National Park were used for various Tatooine backdrops.
Rub' al Khali is a desert in Abu Dhabi which plays as the planet Jakku in "The Force Awakens."
The Tatooine backdrop in Return of The Jedi which contains the sarlock pit and hosts the ultimate destruction of Jabba the Hut was filmed at the Imperial Sand Dunes in California.
Spaceballs
The Moon of Vega which is a backdrop for many scenes in the 1987 film Spaceballs was filmed at the Imperial Sand Dunes in California.
The Ten Commandments (1923)
Cecil B. DeMille directed the silent film epic, which was the most expensive movie filmed at the time. The massive sets of ancient Egypt were built on the dunes near the town of Guadalupe, California.