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. 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. 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. Revell also produced a model kit of a sandworm complete with figures representing Fremen riders. Impact and analysis The sandworms have been called "iconic" to the franchise, 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. Hoai-Tran Bui of /Film noted that they are an "essential to the narrative of the story", and Lindsey Romain of Nerdist deemed the creatures "extremely important to the plot and the very fiber of the Dune universe." Bella Ross of Screen Rant called the sandworms "the embodiment of the perils of colonization." 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 can feel. Some of the ancestral voices within her mind hold back dangerous forces that could destroy her." Touponce also describes "the archetypal terrors of confronting Shai-Hulud, the giant sandworm guarding the treasure". Sibylle Hechtel analyzes the concept of sandworms in the essay "The Biology of the Sandworm" in The Science of Dune (2008). A hacker group responsible for several major cyberattacks in the 2010s named itself Sandworm, in reference to the fictional organism. See also Graboid Mongolian death worm Citations General and cited references External links Systematic Schema: Ecological Cycle(s): Sandworm-Sandtrout, Spice, Water Dune (franchise) species and races Fictional dragons Fictional worms Fictional extraterrestrial life forms Fictional monsters Fictional elements introduced in 1965