The excitement is palpable as marketing is finally ramping up for Dune part 2.
Information regarding the upcoming film has been closely and carefully guarded until now.
At the recent Las Vegas CinemaCon event, during the Warner Bros. Discovery Presentation, a
select few were granted an exclusive preview of the first teaser trailer.
And just 2 days later Vanity Fair’s First Look at the sequel arrived containing an array
of new photos and more exciting details about the characters and their role in the story
of the upcoming film.
In this video, I’d like to examine the top five revelations from Dune Part 2’s first
round of marketing and explore their larger implications for this grand sci-fi saga.
First, Dune part 2 is confirmed to pick up right after the first film left off with Paul
Atreides and his mother Lady Jessica having recently joined the Fremen.
Paul gets a glimpse of the Desert Power his father spoke of as he sees in the distance
a Fremen riding the fearsome and colossal sandworm.
The film then ends with the Fremen Chani played by Zendaya stating that this is just the beginning,
and the sequel will continue from this moment.
And while it’s technically a sequel in his interview with Vanity Fair Director Denis
Villeneuve wanted to make clear that it’s not so much another film rather a continuation
of the first.
Saying, “It’s important—it’s not a sequel, it’s a second part.
There’s a difference,” Villeneuve tells Vanity Fair for this exclusive first look.
“I wanted the movie to really open just where we left the characters.
There’s no time jump.
I wanted dramatic continuity with part one.”
So we have official confirmation that there will be no time jumps between the two film
installments, however several years transpire during the latter half of Frank Herbert’s
novel so how Villeneuve intends to handle this significant passage of time remains unclear.
Next, Dune part 2 is being marketed as an epic war movie, one that was filmed entirely
in IMAX.
For context only 40% of part one was filmed using IMAX cameras.
Villenveuve has previously expressed that he and Dune cinematographer Greg Fraiser had
fallen in love with the format and they are undoubtedly fulfilling their desire to incorporate
more IMAX footage in this sequel.
During the presentation, Villeneuve also noted that while the first film of his two-part
adaptation served as an appetizer, and a more contemplative movie Dune Part 2 is the main
course an action-packed, epic, war movie that is much more dense.
However, Villeneuve also notes that he had to be careful not to let Paul & Chani’s
love story be overwhelmed by all the action, saying, “I wanted to make a very human movie,
very close to the characters, despite the scope of the film.
I kept saying to my crew, ‘The most important thing is that spark, that relationship between
both of these characters.’
If we don’t capture that, if we don’t have that onscreen, there’s no movie.
The epicenter of the story is this relationship.”
To prevent any sense of redundancy, the filmmaker also revealed that the sequel will showcase
entirely new sets and previously unseen locations.
Given the director’s promise for more expansive world-building and the tease of several battle
scenes in the latter part of the story, Dune Part 2 is truly shaping up to be an epic sci-fi
masterpiece.
The next major piece of news came with the reveal of Austin Butler’s bald, pale and
monstrous Feyd-Rautha.
The initial teaser trailer for Part 2 provided the first glimpse of newcomer Austin Butler
as House Harkonnen's Feyd-Rautha, a character introduction that Villeneuve felt would be
more elegant to reserve for the second film.
Feyd-Rautha, brother to Glossu Beast Rabban and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's favored nephew
and chosen heir, was famously played by Sting in David Lynch's 1984 cult classic.
Butler's portrayal of the character will stand as a stark visual contrast to Sting’s.
In what may or may not be considered a significant creative liberty, Butler's Feyd-Rautha will
not have the dark hair as described in the novel, nor the fiery red hair seen in Lynch's
film.
Despite this deviation, he still is said to carry an air of extreme menace appearing monstrous
in the CinemaCon footage.
Villeneuve himself described the Harkonnen heir as a blend of an Olympic sword master
and a psychotic serial killer.
Thus, while Villeneuve's portrayal takes some visual creative liberties, the character's
psychotic and devious nature seems in keeping with the spirit of Feyd.
Villeneuve has decided to save Feyd-Rautha’s full reveal for later on in the publicity
campaign, teasing us with a silhouetted image of the Harkonnen heir wielding his signature
twin blades.
“ In the Vanity Fair article, Villeneuve refers to Feyd as “someone Machiavellian,
much more cruel, much more strategic, and is more narcissistic.”
adding that “Austin Butler brought to the screen something that would be a cross between
a psychotic, sociopath serial killer and Mick Jagger.”
The next big reveal was Florence Pugh's role as the Padishah Emperor's daughter, Princess
Irulan, will be expanded in the adaptation.
Denis Villeneuve characterizes Pugh's Irulan as a "political chess player," suggesting
her enhanced involvement in the Imperial Court, which should help develop the worldbuilding
and establishment of the Duniverse's commercial and political framework.
Princess Irulan's contribution to the Dune novel is distinctive, as her most notable
additions to the story come from her written works, which serve as chapter headings.
Her thoughts and writings function as worldbuilding guideposts for the reader, and due to her
growing importance in the Dune saga, Villeneuve, like previous adaptations, will also feature
an expanded role for Princess Irulan in his interpretation of the source material.
In the vanity Fair piece Villeneuve spoke more of her character saying, “Her stake
could not be higher because she’s afraid that her father could lose the throne, could
lose everything.
When I met Florence, I was struck by her assurance, how grounded she is as a young woman, how
direct, how unapologetic.
She has something inherently royal about her.
I will definitely believe that Florence could become, in the future, a prime minister.”
In the CinemaCon footage Florence Pugh's Irulan can be heard saying, "In the shadows of Arrakis
lie many secrets, but the darkest of them all may remain: the end of House Atreides."
and "What if Paul is still alive?"
This concern could be reinforced by Lady Margot Fenring's potential response in a line to
her husband from the book: "Do not count a human dead until you've seen his body.
And even then, you can make a mistake."
Which brings us to the last major reveal.
Paul’s transformation into Muaddib took center stage in the cinemacon footage.
Eyes blue with spice saturation, Paul was depicted gearing up to ride the iconic and
fearsome sandworm.
The trailer heavily focuses on this Fremen rite of passage, a crucial event in Paul's
journey.
Timothée Chalamet revealed that the worm he rides in Part 2 is entirely practical,
likely enhancing the actor's sense of immersion contributing to a more convincing portrayal
as Muad'Dib, leader of the Fremen.
In reference to this scene Villeneuve said, “It’s a rite of passage.
It’s the way you become an adult in the Fremen world.
That is a very important part of their culture and they respect the worms as half-gods, so
they have a religious relationship with the worm.”
Chalamet further discussed the importance of his character’s rise among the fremen
stating, "In the first movie, Paul is a student.
We really see Paul Atreides become a leader... become a redeemer of the Fremen people, in
a sense."
Zendaya's Chani and Javier Bardem's Stilgar also appear in this sacred ritual sequence.
As both characters were only briefly featured in the first film, more time will likely be
devoted to establishing the mentor-ally relationship between Stilgar and Paul, as well as the blossoming
romance between Paul and Chani.
Zendaya commented on her role, joking that she's not just in dreams this time, and stating,
"These are still just two young people who are trying to grow up and fall in love and
live."
So we can all anticipate getting glimpses of simple pleasures between the two, which
become all the more meaningful as Paul marches toward the realization of his terrible destiny.
And there we have it, those are what I would consider to be the 5 major reveals from the
first big DUNE part 2 media frenzy.
No doubt, this is just the start of the Dune hype train.
As more footage and images are released publicly we’ll certainly have lots more to dive into
and discuss to help us get an even better idea of what we can expect from the conclusion
of this epic story set to release November 3rd 2023.
But I’m curious to know what you think about these newest revelations for Dune part 2.
From the information we’ve gotten so far, is there anything that makes you particularly
excited or concerned about this highly anticipated sequel?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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