Everything about 2021’s Dune was colossal—except its conclusion. Closing on a cliffhanger at the very moment its tale was getting started, Denis Villeneuve’s 155-minute epic couldn’t escape the fact that, for all its breathtaking strengths, it was a prologue in need of a follow-up. That now arrives with Dune: Part Two (March 1, in theaters), a dense and action-heavy sequel that estimably expands this titanic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s landmark 1965 sci-fi novel. Boasting a gargantuan aesthetic design that demands to be experienced on the biggest screen if possible, as well as an ambitious and exhilarating story that matches its style, it’s not only the finest thing Villeneuve has helmed—it’s the 2024 film to beat for outsized sci-fi showmanship.
Dune wrapped up with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) heading into the deserts of Arrakis with Chani (Zendaya)—the literal woman of his dreams—and her indigenous Fremen pals. After his father (Oscar Isaac) was assassinated, House Atreides met its downfall at the hands of the treacherous Harkonnen led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). While bred by his witchy mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) to be the long-prophesied messiah (a status that she thinks will keep him safe), Paul cares little about being the chosen one except insofar as that reputation allows him to remain with the Fremen. He covets this not only because of his budding feelings for Chani, who doubts his divinity, but also because he’s partnering with true-believer Stilgar (Javier Bardem) to attack the Harkonnen spice-harvesting apparatus. The hope is that this will spark a conflict that will earn him a confrontation with Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), who rules alongside his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), and Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling).
Prophesy is both a power unto itself and a tool to manipulate in Dune: Part Two, but it’s also something that can’t be easily controlled. Villeneuve's film (co-written by Jon Spaihts) distinguishes itself from the pack of prior adaptations of Herbert’s book by anchoring itself in thorny issues of sovereignty, exploitation, and the various (earnest and treacherous) ways in which religious beliefs are formed, spread, and utilized—and, ultimately, made real. Until its climactic passages, Paul repeatedly rejects claims that he’s a holy savior. Yet even if those protestations are sincere, they’re only partially so; he’s simultaneously guided by his visions, the most terrifying of which indicate that, should he follow a mysterious female figure to the south, doom awaits.
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Much of Dune: Part Two’s opening hour concerns Paul’s efforts to train with the Fremen and, in doing so, earn their trust and respect—a difficult process given their view of outsiders, and one that only concludes when he successfully rides one of Arrakis’ giant sandworms. That feat is the first of a handful of showstoppers staged with muscular electricity by Villeneuve, who further establishes himself as one of the medium’s masters of massiveness. He creates a deft interplay between mammoth scale and up-close intimacy as well as light and dark, warmth and cold, and anxious silence and thunderous cacophony—the last courtesy of Hans Zimmer’s chest-rattling score and its ominously euphoric main theme. In so doing, the director keeps tension at a fever pitch throughout, be he orchestrating huge battles between armies, showdowns between individuals, or quieter exchanges between Paul and his Fremen mates, whose love and loyalty for him are as hazardous as they are comforting.
Paul recognizes that becoming what his mother and Stilgar (and countless fundamentalist Fremen) want is to court a dangerous authority, and Dune: Part Two derives its central tension from various intertwined ideas: that Paul’s deification is a ploy crafted by forces with their own agendas; that it might bring about suffering and annihilation; and that it may be inevitable, regardless of Paul or Chani’s feelings about embracing such a dark destiny. Less conflicted about the throne, however, is Baron Harkonnen. In the wake of multiple failures to wipe out the Fremen by his rage-y nephew Glossu Rabban Harkonnen (Dave Bautista), he turns his eye to his younger nephew, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler). Feyd is a homicidal “psychotic” whom the Baron—and Mohiam, who’s pulling many of these strings—thinks would make for an outstanding new emperor, should Shaddam IV perish in a forthcoming conflict with Paul.
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Such intrigue fuels Dune: Part Two’s drama while its IMAX-grade set pieces provide it with its thrills, from Paul and Chani collaborating on an early assault of a giant Harkonnen convoy of insectoid vehicles, to Feyd-Rautha demonstrating his viciousness in a gladiatorial colosseum, to Paul leading a charge on the emperor’s mirror-pyramid stronghold during the home stretch. On a couple of occasions, Villeneuve and editor Joe Walker’s transitions prove a tad clunky, hopscotching forward somewhat abruptly. Yet by and large, the film is at once light on its feet (as when soldiers float silently to and from their crafts) and scarily weighty, crashing and roaring from one magisterial sight and skirmish to the next. It's a quiet-loud-quiet beast that rattles the nerves and overwhelms the senses.
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Headlined by a commanding Chalamet, who despite his physical litheness manages to exude an impressive degree of ferocious, zealous intensity as Paul evolves from hurt boy to determined warrior king, Dune: Part Two is awash in superb performances. It’s Ferguson, though, who proves the ace up its sleeve. A conniving figure who accepts her prophesied role as the Fremen’s new Reverend Mother by drinking the sandworm-procured Water of Life, and who routinely communes with the (now-mutated?) unborn daughter who gestates in her womb, Lady Jessica is a devious schemer intent on keeping her finger on the proverbial scale. Ferguson radiates a cagey menace that ultimately typifies so much of these portentous proceedings.
There are fearsome fights galore in Dune: Part Two, as well as reunions with long-lost friends, struggles of the heart and conscience, and troubling questions about altruism, aspiration, leadership, and retribution—not to mention faith, and whether God creates believers or if it’s the other way around. Transforming his lore-laden source material and its many Middle Eastern flourishes and dynamics into a gorgeous and gigantic portrait of liberation and conquest, sacrifice and vengeance, Villeneuve continues to bring Herbert’s beloved standard-setter to brilliant life—emphasis on “continues,” since no matter its satisfying wrap-up, its last notes are far from absolute. Couple that with Léa Seydoux’s tantalizing appearance as a Bene Gesserit witch and a brief A-list cameo that itself serves as proof of Villeneuve’s prospective designs, and it’s clear that Dune: Part Two is merely a prelude for a true finale. Considering this franchise installment’s excellence, that future can’t come soon enough.
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The saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on “Dune: Part Two,” the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning “Dune.”
The big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Wonka,” “Call Me by Your Name”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Malcolm & Marie,” “Euphoria”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning”), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Avengers: End Game,” “Milk”), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (“Elvis,” “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood”), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (“Black Widow,” “Little Women”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Thor: Love and Thunder”), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter,” “Hairspray”), Léa Seydoux (the “James Bond” franchise and “Crimes of the Future”), Souheila Yacoub (“The Braves,” “Climax”), with Stellan Skarsgård (the “Mamma Mia!” films, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”).
“Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path 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.
Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Herbert’s novel. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick. The executive producers are Joshua Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant.
Villeneuve is again collaborating with his “Dune” creatives: Oscar-winning director of photography Greig Fraser; Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette; Oscar-winning editor Joe Walker; Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West. Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is again on hand to create the score.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Present A Legendary Pictures Production, A Film By Denis Villeneuve, “Dune: Part Two.” The film is slated for a March 1, 2024 release in theaters and IMAX nationwide and internationally beginning on 28 February 2024, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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