| Dune: Part Two | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Denis Villeneuve |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Dune by Frank Herbert |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Greig Fraser |
| Edited by | Joe Walker |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 165 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $190 million[2] |
| Box office | $12.4 million |
Dune: Part Two is a 2024 American epic science fiction film produced and directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts. The sequel to Dune (2021), it is the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. It follows Paul Atreides as he unites with the Fremen people of the desert planet Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem reprise their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, and Souheila Yacoub joining the ensemble cast.
Development began after Legendary Entertainment acquired film and television rights for Dune in 2016. Villeneuve signed on as director for the film in 2017, with the intention of making a two-part adaptation of the novel due to its complexity. Production contracts were only secured for a first film, with the second film having to be green-lit based on the first's success. Though Villeneuve was concerned about the sequel's certainty after the first film had a simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max release, Warner Bros. Pictures assured him the sequel would happen if it performed well on HBO Max. After the critical and commercial success of the first film, Warner Bros. and Legendary green-lit Dune: Part Two in October 2021. Most of the new cast members were announced in 2022. Principal photography took place in Budapest, Italy, Jordan and Abu Dhabi between July and December 2022.
Dune: Part Two had its world premiere at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico on February 6, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 1, 2024. It received rave reviews from critics.
Plot[edit]
Princess Irulan Corrino secretly journals that Paul Atreides may still be alive, while her father, Emperor Shaddam IV, is dispirited after promoting the fall of House Atreides. En route to Sietch Tabr on Arrakis, Stilgar's Fremen troops, including Paul and Lady Jessica, overcome a Harkonnen ambush. At the Sietch, suspicions arise about Jessica and Paul being spies, though some Fremen have faith in them, believing in the prophecy of a mother and son bringing prosperity to Arrakis.
Stilgar informs Jessica that their Reverend Mother is dying, convincing Jessica to replace her by drinking the "Water of Life", a poison fatal for males and the untrained. She transmutes the poison and by doing so, survives and inherits the memories of every female ancestor in her genetic lineage. Unbeknownst to anyone but her and Paul, Jessica is pregnant; the Water of Life prematurely awakens her daughter's mind before birth. Following this, Jessica has spiritual conversations with Alia in her womb and believes that those in Northern Arrakis must be convinced first of the prophecy, starting with the weak-minded. Chani and her friend Shishakli believe the prophecy to be false, but when Paul makes a speech about not seeking power and wanting only to fight alongside them, Chani develops respect for him.
Paul embraces Fremen ways and learns their language, passing tests like riding a sandworm. He forms a romantic relationship with Chani, becomes a Fedaykin fighter, and assists raids on Harkonnen spice harvesters, earning the Fremen nicknames "Muad'Dib" and "Usul".[5] Jessica spiritually guides his ascent and thereby fuels the religion in which she has become prominent. Glossu Rabban, whose grip on spice production has been slipping, intensifies raids on the Fremen to please his uncle, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. His continued failure leads to the Baron making his psychotic, murderous younger nephew Feyd-Rautha Arrakis' new ruler. Margot Fenring, a Bene Gesserit acolyte sent by the Reverend Mother Gaius Mohiam, seduces Feyd to secure his genes should Paul’s bloodline be unsalvageable.
Jessica completes her religious quest in the North before travelling South to unite with Fremen fundamentalists. However, Paul fears his visions of a bloody holy war which will ignite if he proceeds South as a messiah. Remaining in the North, he reunites with Gurney Halleck, who joined spice-smugglers after the Atreides' downfall and leads Paul to House Atreides' hidden atomic warheads. Feyd's troops attack Sietch Tabr, killing Shishakli and forcing the survivors, including Paul, to journey South, where Jessica learns that the Water of Life is a liquid excreted by an adolescent sandworm once it is drowned. Against Chani's wishes, Paul consumes the Water of Life; he falls into a coma but is reawakened by Chani with a clearer sense of the past and future, seeing a vision of Alia and realizing the Baron is his maternal grandfather.
Southern Fremen leaders hope for Paul to challenge Stilgar for leadership, but Paul refuses. Finally accepting his messianic destiny, Paul declares himself the Lisan al Gaib and assumes full power over the Fremen. He challenges the Emperor, who arrives on Arrakis with Irulan, Mohiam, and his Sardaukar troops.
At the Emperor's staging ground, he chastises House Harkonnen for their failure to end the Freman threat; Paul's forces surround and attack the staging ground. Riding sandworms, the Fremen overpower Sardaukar forces and breach the defenses. Paul enters the throne room, kills the Baron, and orders the Emperor and others to be transported to the planet's capital city. As Paul challenges the Emperor for the throne, the Great Houses arrive in orbit. Paul threatens to destroy the planet's spice fields with the Atreides' atomics if they intervene.
Paul challenges the Emperor to a duel, with the latter choosing Feyd-Rautha as his champion. Paul wins and Feyd-Rautha is killed. Irulan consents to marry Paul willingly on condition that her father lives, while the Emperor gives in to Paul's ultimatum by kneeling before his signet ring. Above Arrakis, the Great Houses refuse to accept Paul's ascendancy. Paul orders his Fremen army to attack the orbiting fleet. Jessica and Alia reflect that this is the beginning of Muad'Dib's holy war.
Cast[edit]
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, the exiled Duke of House Atreides, who is called "Muad'Dib" by the Fremen
- Zendaya as Chani, a young Fremen warrior and Paul's love interest[6]
- Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Paul's Bene Gesserit mother and concubine to Paul's late father and predecessor, Leto Atreides
- Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck, the former military leader of House Atreides and Paul's mentor
- Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's youngest nephew and heir ("na-Baron") to House Harkonnen
- Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, the Emperor's daughter
- Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, the brutish nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and older brother of Feyd-Rautha
- Christopher Walken as Shaddam IV, the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe and head of House Corrino
- Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot Fenring, a Bene Gesserit and close friend of the Emperor
- Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli, a Fremen warrior and Chani's friend
- Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, head of House Harkonnen, Feyd-Rautha's and Glossu Rabban's uncle, sworn enemy to the Atreides and former steward of Arrakis
- Charlotte Rampling as Gaius Helen Mohiam, a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother and the Emperor's Truthsayer
- Javier Bardem as Stilgar, leader of the Fremen tribe at Sietch Tabr
Anya Taylor-Joy makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Alia Atreides, Paul's unborn sister who appears in his visions as well as communicates to Jessica while in her womb. Stephen McKinley Henderson filmed scenes reprising his role as Thufir Hawat and Tim Blake Nelson filmed scenes as an undisclosed character, but their scenes are not included in the final cut; they were given a "Special Thanks" credit by Villeneuve.
