Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters worldwide, and we're breaking down some of the biggest moments from Denis Villeneuve's critically-acclaimed sci-fi sequel, including the events of the final battle and one significant change to Frank Herbert's novel.
If you've read the book, this obviously won't apply to you, but everyone else should be aware of major spoilers from this point on.
Towards the end of Part Two, Paul Atreides drinks a substance known as the Water of Life (liquid from an infant sandworm), which greatly enhances his prescient abilities and gives him the "gift" of full foresight. "Muad'Dib" does this because he believes accepting his prophesized destiny as both the Fremen messiah and the Bene Gesserit's Kwisatz Haderach is the only path to victory - even though he knows it will also lead to a catastrophic holy war in his name.
Thanks to the Atreides nuclear warheads and some very big worms, the Fremen do indeed manage to prevail, and Paul kills the Baron Harkonnen - who is revealed to be Jessica's father, his grandfather - before facing Feyd-Rautha in a closely matched knife fight.
Paul is badly wounded, but ultimately dispatches his enemy and tells Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV that he will take the hand of his daughter, Princess Irulan, and rule alongside her as the new Emperor.
Paul then orders his people to attack the envoys of the universe's great houses who have assembled over Arrakis and refuse to acknowledge his ascendancy, thus beginning his holy Jihad.
The movie ends with a devastated Chani walking away from Paul and setting a thumper in the sand to call a worm.
This is a major departure from Chani's character on the page, who follows/worships Paul and fully buys into his status as Mahdi along with Stilgar and the rest of the Fremen. The fact that she recognizes the danger of fundamentalism and seemingly opposes Paul at the end of the movie suggests that they may be enemies in the planned adaptation of Dune: Messiah.
Do you plan on seeing Dune: Part Two this weekend? Drop us a comment down below.
"Those hoping for blockbuster escapism might find themselves shook by this faithful, at times borderline depressing adaptation," we said in our review. "But Dune Part Two is Sci-fi spectacle at its finest and most audacious, as Villeneuve builds-upon and possibly surpasses (opinions will vary) his previous film with aplomb."
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.