First ‘Dune: Part Two’ Trailer Promises an Epic War, More Sandworms and a Bald Austin Butler

Canadian director Denis Villeneuve describes 'Dune: Part Two' as "an action-packed, epic war movie." Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The first trailer for Dune: Part Two was released Wednesday, and it looks to make good on a promise director Denis Villeneuve’s delivered last week at CinemaCon.

The Canadian director — who helmed the first instalment of the film based on the 1965 sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert — says fans can expect the pace to pick up in the sequel.

Part One is more of a contemplative movie. Part Two is an action-packed, epic war movie. It is much more dense. We went to all new locations,” Villeneuve said at the event, where the first footage of the film was previewed. “I didn’t want a feeling of repetition. It’s all new sets. Everything is new.”

The director maintains an important aesthetic from the first film, shooting on location in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Italy

“The thing is that when you make a movie like that, you want the results and you want the actors and actresses to receive the full impact of the real landscape, because it will deeply influence the way we will make things,” Villeneuve explained in a 2021 interview with Zoomer about his first Dune film. “I would have never been able to do the same movie if I had shot it on the back lot with us shoveling sand on the tarmac.”

Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are back as Paul Atreides and Chani  for the second instalment, with the trailer hinting at the pair’s love story set against the backdrop of an impending war against Harkonnen rule.

 

Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani in ‘Dune: Part Two’. Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

 

According to the official synopsis, the sequel “will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath 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 endeavours to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.”

Notable images from the trailer include a blue-eyed Atreides — the result of consuming the Fremen’s mystic spice drug — commanding a massive army and riding a giant sandworm as Chani and the Fremen clan cheer him on. Meanwhile, we get our first look at Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen — a role that sees the suave Elvis star sporting a bald head.

 

Dune
From ‘Elvis’ to evil villain, a bald Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in ‘Dune: Part Two’. Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

 

Returning for the second film along with Chalamet and Zendaya are Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica Atreides), Javier Bardem (Stilgar), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen), Dave Bautista (Glossu Rabban Harkonnen), Charlotte Rampling (Reverend Mother Mohiam) and Stephen McKinley Henderson (Thufir Hawat).

The film also sees plenty of newcomers, including Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV,  Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot (who is part of the Bene Gasserit, a key social, religious and political force in Frank Herbert’s novel), Souheila Yacoub as a Fremen warrior and Tim Blake Nelson, whose character has yet to be named.

Dune: Part Two
Photo: EPK

 

Dune was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won six. And while its theatrical release was hampered by pandemic challenges, it still brought in US$400 million at the box office.

Villeneuve — who told Zoomer the project was a dream of his since reading the Dune series as a teen — has expressed interest in directing a third instalment based on Herbert’s Dune Messiah (1969), the second book in the sci-fi series.