Dune: Part Two | The four letters of a phenomenon

One week before the release of Dune: Part Two, The Press offers you an acrostic summary of what you need to know before seeing Denis Villeneuve’s new film.

Two

As the title suggests, Dune: part two is the sequel to the first part released in 2021. It ended with Paul Atréides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), joining the Fremen people after surviving the Harkonnen attack on the planet Arrakis. The scenario of the two Dune, written by Denis Villeneuve and John Spaihts – Eric Roth contributed to that of the first – is taken from the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. Considered one of the greatest works of science fiction of all time, it was first published in two installments in the magazine Analogue, then published in 1965 by Chilton Books, which specialized in automobile repair instruction manuals! The novel’s popularity led to a first film adaptation by David Lynch in 1984. Two miniseries based on subsequent books were released in the early 2000s.

Unanimous

The first opinions written by fans on social networks, around ten days ago, were rave. The embargo for official reviews was lifted Wednesday, and while a few authors have some reservations, the vast majority are positive. According to our colleague Manon Dumais, “Denis Villeneuve, unsurprisingly, outdoes himself with this breathtaking second part”. The British daily The Guardian mentions that Dune: Part Two is a “stunning spectacle”, while the magazine Variety calls this “epic sequel” a “vote of confidence in cinema”. “A triumph, greater than the first,” believes the New York Post. THE Toronto Star gives a perfect score to this “spectacular tale of war and love”. On Rotten Tomatoes, the rating for Denis Villeneuve’s film is 97% and 80% on Metacritic. Wherever the team has presented the film in recent weeks – Mexico City, London, Paris – crowds have come in large numbers to see the makers of the feature film. Moreover, Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve will be in Montreal on February 28 for the premiere.

Read Manon Dumais’ review

What’s new

Several important characters died in the first part, especially on the Atreides side. Besides Paul and Jessica, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) survived. Dune: part two allows us to meet many Fremen, including Shishakli (Swiss Souheila Yacoub), but Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) remain the main ones. To overcome the Fremen resistance, the unkillable Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) calls on his nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), possibly more threatening than his big brother Rabban (Dave Bautista). The Emperor of the known universe, Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), is revealed in the sequel, as is his daughter, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). Frenchwoman Léa Seydoux plays Lady Margot, a Bene Gesserit in the service of the emperor, but above all devoted to the Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling) and her order.

Afterwards

During a visit to South Korea last December, Denis Villeneuve told local media that the scenario of a third Dune was almost finished. Although the Quebecer stressed that making a trilogy would be “a dream”, he added that he would probably take “a detour” before returning to Arrakis in order to preserve “his mental health”. The success of Dune: part two will determine whether the Warner Bros. studio. gives the green light to a third film. In the meantime, the series Dune: Prophecy is planned by the end of the year on Max (Crave, Quebec). It tells the origins of the Bene Gesserit, 10,000 years before the events of Dune. Emily Watson and Olivia Williams play Valya and Tula Harkonnen, respectively, the founding sisters of the mystical order.

In theaters on March 1, but several cinemas offer performances on February 29.