SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this post if you haven’t seen, or don’t want to know, details from the movie Dune: Part Two.

Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) unites w/ Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice btwn the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. -Synopsis (WB)

Are y’all ready for sand, flowing capes, intricate headgear, and swords!? I saw this movie during the 2nd week of its release (w/ a good-sized crowd at AFI). I didn’t see it in IMAX; I was still impressed w/ the visuals and the music. I enjoyed it, as I did w/ the 1st part released in the pandemic (streamed on MAX). A LOT more happens here; the story (which picks up the moment after the end of the 1st movie) becomes more expansive. Paul has grown-up more; he’s learning new skills, adapting to the new environment, and working to fit in w/ the Fremen leadership, esp. Stilgar (Javier Bardem), who some viewers dubbed Paul’s “hype man.” Stilgar is the 1st one to believe in Paul as “the prophet.” In a pivotal scene, we see Paul take on the name “Muad’Dib” (desert mouse). Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) gains power of her own and gets much more to do; I was eager for her scenes. Paul and Chani admire and respect each other; they fall in love; I found it to be done in a quiet and gentle manner.

I’m a strong believer that when it’s not in the movie, it’s dead. I kill darlings, and it’s painful for me. Sometimes I remove shots and I say, “I cannot believe I’m cutting this out.” I feel like a samurai opening my gut. It’s painful, so I cannot go back after that and create a Frankenstein and try to reanimate things that I killed. It’s too painful. When it’s dead, it’s dead, and it’s dead for a reason. But yes, it is a painful project, but it is my job. The movie prevails. I’m very, I think, severe in the editing room. I’m not thinking about my ego, I’m thinking about the movie. -Denis Villeneuve, explaining that there would be no deleted scenes released

Contrary to the usual practice, Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) were NOT filmed back-to-back, and the studio’s approval of the 2nd film very much hinged on the success of the 1st, which was complicated by a fixed release date and the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Denis Villeneuve (director) said that production company (Legendary Pictures) loved the 1st film, so was “ready to go to war to make the second one.” The sequel was officially greenlit on October 26th, 2021, 4 days after Dune (2021) had its US release. The language of the Fremen is named Chakobsa in Frank Herbert’s novels, which derives from IRL Arabic; it also contains some French, Greek, Romani, and Slavic (w/ heavy alterations of Hebrew and Sanskrit). The filmmakers often chose desert locations based on specific sand dunes having a certain shape that Villeneuve wanted, or the perfect sun orientation that Greig Fraser (cinematographer) needed. The crew had to walk in tight corridors, so NOT to disturb the sand w/ footprints before filming. Afterwards, a special “sand team” would sweep the sands to erase the prints for the next morning.

I’ve definitely in the past, w/ Elvis (2022), explored living w/in that world for 3 yrs and that being the only thing that I think about day and night. With Feyd, I knew that that would be unhealthy for my family and friends… So I made a conscious decision to have a boundary. It allowed for more freedom between action and cut b/c I knew I was going to protect everybody else outside of the context of what we were doing. That’s not to say that it doesn’t bleed into your life. But I knew that I wasn’t going to do anything dangerous outside of that boundary, and in a way that allowed me to go deeper. -Austin Butler

When the camera was on, it was like you were possessed. When the camera was off, you were still maybe 25 or 30% Feyd. Just enough to still be present and focus but removed enough that you didn’t kill anybody on set. -Denis Villeneuve

There are several new characters to meet; perhaps the most interesting is Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), the young nephew to Baron Harkkonen (Stellan Skaarsgard). Butler put on 25 lbs. (on his typically slim/6′ frame) to play a warrior w/ a lust for blood. He has a liaison w/ the cool/calculating Lady Margot Fenring (Lea Seydoux); this was planned by Bene Gesserit- Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling). In one scene, Feyd-Rautha kisses his uncle (as a show of loyalty); this was improvised by Butler! Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) is jealous of his cousin; they have an antagonistic relationship. Fraser suggested the idea to shoot the scenes in Giedi Prime (the Harkonnen planet) w/ infrared cameras to give the skin a translucent texture. Feyd-Rautha’s flight is seen in B&W, induced by a black sun that Giedi Prime orbits around.

Some were surprised to see that Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) didn’t have a meaty role; we’ll see much more of her in the 3rd installment. As I’ve noted before, I’m a fan of Pugh; she has a quiet (internal) role here. The Emperor (and Irulan’s father) is played by stage/screen veteran Christopher Walken; some viewers thought that he wasn’t quite right for this part. Many were surprised to see Anya Taylor Joy on the red carpet during the premiere; she wore a gauzy white gown w/ a head covering. She she has a short (yet pivotal) cameo; more will be done w/ her character (Alia) in the future.

Paul is more of a “gray” character (anti-hero); maybe y’all book readers already knew this. The scene where he rides the huge sandworm was pretty cool! Instead of heeding Chani’s warning, Paul drinks “the water of life.” This desert mouse can roar (for sure), and isn’t as humble as he pretended, as we see in the last act. Of course, I was a BIT shocked when Paul chose the princess for marriage (a stranger, yet politically advantageous) over Chani (who doesn’t believe in the prophecy, seeing him just as a man)!