Dune: Part One was only the beginning. Now, the real action begins.
In Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 adaptation of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic, we see the fall of House Atreides after they take residence at Arrakis, a nigh unlivable planet that produces the highly valuable resource called spice melange. But in Dune: Part Two, we see the bloody revolution that is born out of the massacre committed by the greedy Harkonnens. And it looks to be just as epic as the first film.
Watch the trailer for Dune: Part Two below.
Dune: Part Two adapts the second half of Herbert’s 1965 novel, picking up after an exiled Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) join forces with the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis. But rather than closely adapt the two-year time jump of the novel, Dune: Part Two drops us straight into the action, which lines up with director Denis Villeneuve’s comments to Vanity Fair that “there’s no time jump. I wanted dramatic continuity with part one.” This makes Paul’s journey to becoming the Kwisatz Haderach, the messiah who is prophesied to lead the Fremen out of their oppression, feel all the more urgent.
For those who might’ve felt a little impatient with the first, more meticulously paced Dune, this second part should offer all the excitement they’re craving. There’s sandworm-riding! Bald Austin Butler! Florence Pugh in a sci-fi hair net!
In all seriousness, Dune: Part Two looks like it will finally pay off the suspenseful build-up of the first film, which only teased dreamy flashes of a religious crusade (actually called a jihad in the book) and prophetic visions of Paul’s violent future. And with the addition of franchise newcomers including Pugh as Princess Irulan, Butler as the villainous Feyd-Rautha, Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot Fenring, and Christopher Walken as the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, Dune: Part Two might just be even richer and more complex than the first film.
Here is the official synopsis for Dune: Part Two:
“This follow-up film will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”
