A first look at Austin Butler's terrifying villain. A knife fight
before a white wedding. And is that Paul riding a sandworm? Let's take
a close look at the complexities of the "Dune: Part Two" trailer.
Denis Villeneuve previously remarked that "Dune:
Part Two" would be treated less as a sequel and more of a continuation of where the first
film left off. The trailer proves the truth of that comment as we kick off with Paul and
Chani sharing during a quiet and peaceful moment among the sand dunes of Arrakis.
"Where you see sand here, imagine water. When you dive in, you can't reach the bottom."
Their brief but sweet interaction here lines up with Villeneuve's intention to make their
relationship the heart of the sequel. The trailer is chock-full of sweeping landscape
shots and images of war and threats that'll soon rain down on Arrakis, but it speaks volumes that
the footage opens on something as small and intimate as two space dorks trying to flirt.
The Atreides family, of course, has been decimated by Harkonnen forces
and compelled to flee into the desert. As the last survivors of their House,
Paul and the Lady Jessica have no choice but to carry on the late Duke's legacy and attempt
to survive among the indigenous Fremen clans deep in the desert. But does the
rest of the galaxy assume that all the members of House Atreides have been extinguished, too?
"In the shadows of Arrakis lie many secrets ... but the darkest of them all may remain."
Hey, that voice sure sounds familiar! As we zoom in on an image of the Lady Jessica
riding among a regiment of Fremen, we pivot to Florence Pugh's rather regal-looking new
character. She's Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Padishah Emperor, and even this quick glimpse
confirms one major detail straight from the book that will make any hardcore "Dune" fan happy.
The princess appears to be holding up some sort of recorder as she monologues about Arrakis,
in line with how author Frank Herbert preceded almost every chapter in the original book with
a short excerpt from historical books, diary entries, and other recordings from the future that
were credited to Irulan. The only difference, of course, is that the movie version of the character
seems to be documenting these events in real-time as opposed to setting them down years later.
In any case, her ponderings go on to reveal that, even among the Emperor's inner circle,
the possibility that Paul actually lives is starting to take hold. With
Paul and Lady Jessica eking out a meager existence with the Fremen,
well, it's likely that those "shadows" are a reference to them.
Ask and you shall receive. Ever since Austin Butler was first cast in "Dune:
Part Two," eager fans have awaited the first reveal of his transformation into
the role of Feyd-Rautha, the nephew of Baron Harkonnen and younger brother of
Glossu "Beast" Rabban. After the quickest of teases in the recent sneak peek,
the trailer finally delivers the clearest look yet of the antagonist in all his smooth-headed glory.
His appearance is a far cry from how he's described in the book, but this makeover
certainly makes him appear to have a piece of both of the main Harkonnen characters,
boasting the formidable physical presence of Rabban but maintaining the cool intellect of
the Baron. We see him later on in full Harkonnen armor, yelling savagely as he
stands over another bald-headed individual in what appears to be a fighting pit. Consider
this just a taste of what this villain will be capable of throughout the sequel.
For anyone who may have had concerns that "Dune:
Part Two" wouldn't delve deep into the fascinating and oftentimes bizarre lore of the original book,
worry no more. This tantalizing and out-of-context glimpse of some robed figure holding a vial of
water stands out compared to the rest of the quick montage that it follows:
images of the surface of Arrakis bathed in a sickly red light; the Baron standing, or floating,
over a kneeling Beast Rabban; flashes of both Paul and Chani out in the desert and suited up
in their protective "stillsuits," and a look at Léa Seydoux's new character Margot Fenring,
whom Villeneuve teased as a Bene Gesserit "secret agent." The distinctive robe in this shot might
suggest that another member of the Bene Gesserit is holding this vial, but most book readers will
immediately think of the crucial "water of life" moment from the second half of the
book. Without spoiling anything, it seems clear that things are about to get very weird, indeed.
Who says "Dune" can't have a sense of humor? In a scene that most assumed would be front-and-center
of the marketing for "Part Two," Paul embarks on the Fremen coming-of-age ritual of riding
one of the monstrous sandworms that populate the deserts of Arrakis. This
is meant to mark the moment where children become adults and, for a very select few,
outsiders are embraced as one of the clan ... provided that they can actually pull it off
without dying a horrible death, of course. As epic and awe-inspiring as this sequence will surely be,
it's somewhat refreshing to see the trailer edited in a way to emphasize Paul's wry sense of humor.
"Nothing fancy."
"I understand."
"Nothing fancy."
Humor was an element that some found lacking overall in the first film, but perhaps there'll
be some lighthearted moments in between all the doom and gloom of this epic story.
There are two major scenes in this trailer that book readers would be most looking forward to:
Paul riding the sandworm, and the duel to the death between him and Feyd-Rautha. As
the symbolic leaders of their respective houses, the two are practically destined
for a collision course that can only end in violence. Expect much of the film to
set up just how much of a threat young Feyd will pose to Paul and the Fremen.
Needless to say, there's no telling exactly how Villeneuve will adapt the
events of the second half of Herbert's book or how many bigger developments
in the sequel are being kept under wraps. Either way, avid fans will
recognize the menacing sentence that the now blue-eyed Paul utters before his fight:
"May thy knife chip and shatter."
And to think this only scratches the surface of what "Dune: Part Two" will undoubtedly offer. It's
going to be a long wait until the spice flows once again; the film hits theaters on November 3, 2023.