The next Dune movie comes out in November – and new trailers and interviews reveal
new characters like Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and Princess Irulan.
So who are these characters, what’s happening in the trailer, and how does it compare to
the book?
This video has no big spoilers – just some background info from the book and from interviews
to get us ready for Dune Part Two.
So in the first Dune movie, the Atreides took over the planet Arrakis.
In the deserts of Arrakis are giant sandworms, and a precious resource called spice.
The Atreides were attacked and defeated by the Harkonnens, with the help of the Emperor’s
soldiers.
So Paul and Jessica Atreides escaped and joined the Fremen in the desert.
Paul had visions of the future – seeing himself as a religious leader, unleashing
a terrible holy war.
Director Denis Villeneuve says the first Dune movie is “contemplative” – it’s slow.
But that the next movie, Part Two, is an “action-packed, epic war movie”.
The trailer shows Paul and Chani fighting Harkonnen soldiers.
The trailer says ‘long live the fighters’, which is a Fremen battle cry – this is a
war for control of Arrakis.
But amidst the violence and sci fi shenanigans, Villeneuve centres the story on the human
relationship of Paul and Chani.
In the trailer, Paul and Chani kiss, and say that they will stay together – which is
similar to a line in the book.
Chani’s actor Zendaya says that despite the “intense circumstances”, these are
just “two young people”, “trying to grow up and fall in love”.
She draws on relatable feelings of teenage awkwardness.
And there are awkward moments in the book – Chani makes Paul blush, and feel embarrassed
when they meet.
Paul and Chani are from different cultures, they’re literally from different planets,
so they have misunderstandings, and they learn from each other.
In the trailer, Paul compares the sand dunes of Arrakis to the ocean waves of his homeworld,
Caladan.
This is based on a bit in the book, when Chani asks about the waters of Paul’s birthworld.
In the trailer, Paul talks about swimming and diving in water, and Chani can’t imagine
that’s even possible, because water is so rare on Arrakis.
That’s based on a different bit from the book, where Paul explains what drowning and
boats are to a woman.
In the Dune book, we don’t get to see much of the beginning of Paul and Chani’s relationship.
The new movie explores their relationship more, using bits from the book to inspire
new scenes.
The trailer shows a soldier burning corpses – they look like dead Atreides from the
battle in the first movie.
Previously, Paul had visions of burning corpses, and they were connected with his vision of
a holy war.
Paul sees death in his future and in his past.
We see a portrait of Paul’s dead father Leto burning.
In the first movie, we saw a portrait of Leto’s father, the Old Duke.
The Old Duke died when he faced a bull in an arena and was killed.
Like how Leto faced the Harkonnens on Arrakis, and was killed.
Now Paul is facing danger – will he be killed, like his father and grandfather before him?
In the trailer, Jessica says Leto didn’t believe in revenge.
Leto spoke of honour, honesty, and morality.
Will Paul live up to these ideals?
In the book, Leto says that if they compromise their morals to survive, the honourable Atreides
banner “could come to mean many evil things”.
The trailer shows Jessica in a basket with some Fremen, as they ride on a sandworm – you
can see this guy steering the sandworm with ropes.
Cause the Fremen use sandworms to travel, and certain important people ride worms in
a palanquin, this special basket.
We see Jessica with blue eyes, which is caused by spice – you can see spice on her nose,
like she’s been snorting it.
We see Jessica in fancy costumes, and she has markings on her face, similar to this
vision Paul had in the first movie.
Villeneuve says these markings are tattoos, linked with the prophecy of the Lisan al-Gaib,
the messiah who will save the Fremen.
Some Fremen believe that Jessica and Paul fit this prophecy, that they are the chosen
ones.
These markings are on Jessica’s clothes as well as her face, she is physically cloaking
herself in this prophecy, playing the role of messiah.
Jessica wants the Fremen to believe that she and Paul are the chosen ones so that she can
use the Fremen to help her and Paul.
And Paul doesn’t like this.
In the trailer, Jessica says they give “hope” to the Fremen, but Paul says “That's not
hope”.
Because in the first movie we learned that the Fremen prophecy is at least partly a lie.
The Bene Gesserit planted this prophecy on Arrakis as a tool to control the Fremen.
Paul doesn’t want to exploit Fremen religion – though, he does need the Fremen’s help
to survive on Arrakis.
And there is some truth to the prophecy – Paul does have real power to see the future.
Jessica believes that Paul may be the Kwisatz Haderach, a superhuman created by the Bene
Gesserit breeding program.
So.. it’s complicated – Paul and Jessica are playing with powerful dangerous forces
of religion, politics, visions and predictions, and Paul knows this could lead to terrible
destruction.
We see a new character, played by Florence Pugh – this is Princess Irulan Corrino.
Irulan is the daughter of the Emperor of the Universe, Shaddam Corrino.
We haven’t seen the Emperor yet, but he’ll be played by Christopher Walken.
Irulan is described in the book as tall blonde and beautiful, confident, and intelligent.
Irulan has been trained by the Bene Gesserit – so she has powers of perception, control,
and combat.
In the Dune book, each chapter starts with a quote from a book written by Irulan.
Irulan writes about history, and philosophy, giving us worldbuilding details and thematic
ideas for each chapter.
Irulan also writes about her own life.
As the Emperor’s daughter, Irulan had a.. difficult childhood – she writes “A Royal
Family is not like other families” – in her home, political plots and intrigues were
“constant and oppressive”, and even her own father was a potential threat to her.
Irulan is a minor character in the Dune book.
But the new movie gives her a bigger role.
In the trailer, she says that the fall of House Atreides is a dark secret, and she wonders
if Paul might still be alive.
Cause the Harkonnens tried to kill the Atreides secretly, to make them “die in the dark”.
>Despite the fact that the Baron promised the Bene Gesserit that he wouldn’t kill
Paul and Jessica.
The Harkonnens think Paul and Jessica are dead – they saw them fly into a storm.
But it looks like Irulan wants to find the truth.
In the trailer, someone approaches a Fremen, then we see Irulan in a.. chainmail outfit.
Is Irulan on Arrakis, hunting for Paul?
That would be a big change from the book – but as a Bene Gesserit, Irulan would have the
skills to infiltrate, spy and fight.
The Dune TV adaptation on the Sci Fi Channel also gave Irulan an investigation plotline
– and gave her a similar outfit, maybe they’re drawing inspiration here.
This captured Fremen might be the character Shishakli.
Shishakli is a man in the book, but played by Souheila Yacoub in the movie.
These dead birds might have been an attempt by Shisashakli to send a message, because
Fremen use birds and bats to send messages, but maybe these soldiers stopped her.
We don’t know exactly what’s happening here, but it looks like Princess Irulan has
a bigger role in this movie that she has in the Dune book.
Another new character is Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, played by Austin Butler.
Feyd-Rautha is a nephew of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and is the brother of “Beast”
Rabban.
Feyd is the Baron’s favourite nephew.
Because Beast Rabban is.. a dumb brute, but Feyd is smart, scheming, ruthless.
In the book, Feyd-Rautha is seventeen years old, a sullen teenager with dark hair in ringlets,
though in the new movie he’s bald.
All the Harkonnens are bald and pale in the Villeneuve movies, because their planet Giedi
Prime is ultra-industrialised, polluted, and unnatural, so the Harkonnens are sickly, pale,
and.. >bald.
Feyd-Rautha has a sensual, effeminate quality in the book – he has full pouting lips,
and wears tight black clothes.
So in the 70s, filmmaker Jodorowsky wanted Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones to play
Feyd.
In the 80s David Lynch movie, he was played by Sting.
So Feyd-Rautha is like a cross between a sexy rockstar and a psycho serial killer.
Villeneuve says Feyd is charismatic, narcissistic, strategic, and cruel.
In the trailer, Feyd enters an arena, and the curving shapes of this opening look like
a vulva or a mouth – Harkonnen architecture is about consuming, swallowing everything
into the belly of the whale, because the Harkonnens devour resources, people, and worlds.
[Jodorwsky clip] Feyd fights a gladiator in the arena, and
everything’s shot in stark black and white.
Villeneuve said he loves the colour black, and has long dreamed of “a world made out
of one color with a lot of sensuality and high design”.
The man who Feyd is fighting is Lieutenant Lanville – this guy is a background character
in the first movie, an Atreides soldier played by Roger Yuan, the movies’ fight coordinator.
So it looks like Lanville was captured in the battle in the first movie, and has now
been enslaved by the Harkonnens, forced to fight for sport.
You can see scars on Lanville’s back – cause the Harkonnens whip their slaves with a particular
vine that leaves painful scars – Gurney has scar on his face from when he was a Harkonnen
slave.
Also, in the background of this shot, we can see creepy dancing figures with weirdly shaped
hats, or.. heads.
So this fight scene between Feyd and Lanville will be visually striking.
Later, we see Feyd facing Paul.
Paul holds his knife to his head, which is the same Atreides salute that Duncan used
before his death.
Then Paul says “May thy knife chip and shatter”.
Which is what Jamis said to Paul in the first movie.
So Paul learns from his Atreides teachers, and from his Fremen teachers, and will use
those deadly lessons against Feyd.
In seems that Paul and Feyd are destined to clash.
Cause the Atreides and the Harkonnens are opposites – the Atreides use self-control
to master their own minds, while the Harkonnens are beasts ruled by their greed, lust, and
rage.
We see Feyd roar like an animal.
This is what Gaius talked about in the first movie – is Paul a human, or an animal?
When Paul fights Feyd-Rautha, he confronts the beast within himself.
So we’ll see a lot more of the Harkonnens in Dune Part Two.
This promo shot shows the Baron in a bath.
He might still be recovering from Leto’s poison attack in the last movie.
Villenueve says the Baron is like a hippopotamus cause he’s “more comfortable in liquid”
because of his weight.
In this shot, “he’s smoking spice”, which is wonderfully indulgent.
The Baron is a sensualist who craves pleasure through food and sex and every kind of physical
stimulation.
The books don’t mention him taking baths or smoking, but this is fitting for his personality.
Another new character is Lady Margot Fenring, played by Léa Seydoux.
Margot watches Feyd-Rautha fight in the arena, and the two have a closer encounter later.
There’s also this shot of what might be Margot arriving on the Harkonen planet Giedi
Prime – cause the surface of Giedi Prime is full of “bitter oil” and pollution,
which is kinda how this black dirt looks.
But who is Margot?
Margot is a Bene Gesserit, like Irulan and Jessica, so she has powers of perception,
combat, and control.
She’s described in the books as “golden-haired and willowy”, “perfection of figure”.
Margot is married to Count Hasimir Fenring – who might be played by Tim Blake Nelson,
it’s not confirmed yet.
But Hasimir is a politician and a friend of the Emperor Shaddam.
In the book, Hasimir and Margot worked for the Emperor on Arrakis, smuggling spies and
assassins.
They lived in the Arrakeen governor’s mansion – until the Atreides moved in.
And when the Atreides arrive, Jessica finds a note from Margot warning her about the Harkonnens.
So it seems like Margot wants to help the Atreides, though her husband Hasimir works
for the Emperor, who wants to destroy the Atreides, and the Bene Gesserit have their
own plans with Margot.
So the Fenrings have complicated relationships with the great powers of this universe.
Whose side are they on?
Villeneuve says Margot is a “secret agent”, and she’s “a character full of surprises”.
Gurney Halleck appears in the trailer.
Remember, Gurney is one of Paul’s teachers, and is one of the greatest warriors in the
universe.
Last time we saw Gurney, he fought against the Harkonnens in battle.
And in the book, >we don’t know for a while if Gurney survives that battle.
But the trailer shows that Gurney lives to fight again.
His hair is longer now, so it looks like some time has passed.
Villeneuve says Gurney “has come back to avenge his friends”.
The trailer also shows some Fremen going through a fancy door underground, maybe the entrance
to a sietch, a Fremen settlement.
It’s unlocked with some kind of finger scanner.
In the book, Jessica opens a lock that reads that reads the shape of her hand, so maybe
this is a similar technology.
The machine also looks similar to the pain box from the first movie – Dune often repeats
this imagery of facing pain, facing a test, so that you can learn and improve yourself.
So the centrepiece of the trailer is Paul facing a deadly test – trying to ride a
sandworm.
In Fremen culture, riding a worm for the first time is a coming of age ritual, this is how
a boy becomes a man.
The phallic worm suggests sexual maturity.
[show pic of Freud and Feyd-vulva].
There’s also religious connotations, cause the sandworms are like gods to the Fremen,
they call them Shai-Hulud and maker.
The way it works is, the Fremen plants a device called thumper.
The thumper makes a rhythmic noise which vibrates through the ground and attracts a sandworm.
Then the Fremen uses these maker hooks to climb up onto the worm.
When they stick a hook under the sandworm’s scales, the sandworm rolls and turns to keep
its exposed skin away from the ground.
So by pulling the hooks, a Fremen can steer the worm, and travel where they wish.
But getting on top of the giant moving worm is very dangerous, it’s easy to fall and
get crushed.
So facing the worm is like the Old Duke facing the bull, Leto facing the Baron, Paul facing
the gom jabbar, the hunter-seeker, and Jamis – this is a deadly test that Paul can only
survive through mastery of his body and mind.
In the trailer, Stilgar tells Paul to keep his worm ride “simple”, “Nothing fancy”,
just do it safely.
Stilgar says the same thing in the book.
Cause sometimes young Fremen get too excited and proud, and they show off with tricks like
dancing and doing handstands atop the worm.
>Paul might like to show off in front of his crush Chani.
But Stilgar doesn’t want Paul to take a dumb risk and get killed.
In the trailer, Paul falls and almost dies.
But he rises again, and rides the worm.
He is now a man, a full Fremen.
And the Fremen are elated.
Maybe Paul really is the messiah.
The trailer ends with a huge crowd of Fremen cheering Paul.
It feels triumphant.
But remember Paul’s visions in the first movie, of the cheering crowds that bring destruction
– he sees “a holy war spreading across the universe like unquenchable fire”, “A
war in my name!”.
In the book, Kynes thinks that “No more terrible disaster could befall your people
than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero”.
To go deeper into Dune, check out these videos on Nebula.
Tale Foundry’s video about the genre of Dune argues that the story finds the fantastical
not in magic but it humanity itself . And Thomas Flight explains some techniques used
in the first Dune movie’s sound design . Both these videos are only available on Nebula,
an independent creator-owned video site where we don’t have to worry about demonetisation,
or the algorithm.
Nebula also has classes with people like Tom Nicholas teaching how they make videos.
And Nebula is where Lindsay Ellis exclusively posts her videos now, including an essay on
the adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, and a new video on Guy Fieri.
There’s a lot of great content on Nebula.
And using the link below, you can get 40% off an annual plan – you’ll get exclusive
content, and support independent creators, including Alt Shift X.
Thanks for watching.
And thanks to the Patrons, including ceNe, Jarin, Caleb Mattingly, Cristobal Tineo, and
Izaac B. Cheers.