Empire Magazine has shared more from the mag's interview (conducted before the strikes) with Dune: Part 2 director Denis Villeneuve, and in this latest segment, the filmmaker discusses protagonist Paul Atreides' (Timothée Chalamet) journey from nobleman to freedom fighter, and something (potentially) a lot more destructive.
If you haven't read Frank Herbert's source novel and want to go into the upcoming sci-fi sequel completely fresh, spoilers follow.
In the first movie, Paul experiences disturbing visions of his future as the Fremen messiah, Muad’Dib. His growing prescient abilities reveal to him that he can lead his people to freedom, but at great cost.
If he fully embraces his destiny and vanquishes the Harkonnen oppressors, he will unleash a devastating holy Jihad in his name that will spread across the universe, resulting in millions of deaths.
“I remember when I was doing Part One, I kept saying to Timothée, ‘No, you’re just Paul.’ Because he was reaching for Muad’Dib," the Blade Runner 2049 director explains. "He was looking forward to becoming that hero and I was pushing the brakes.”
“He has the power to change things, but he knows that if he does so, it will create an astronomical amount of violence and he will become a kind of dictator. He’s trying to find a way to avoid that ominous future – that’s the burden upon his shoulders.”
Does Paul turn from this path? Let's just say, Dune is not exactly your typical hero's journey!
Check out a new still at the link below.
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: Endgame, Milk), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Love and Thunder), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences), Léa Seydoux (James Bond, Crimes of the Future), with Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), 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 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 endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.