In November 2023, “Dune 2″ will once again take us to Arrakis. Now director Denis Villeneuve reveals why his film is not a sequel and why the love between Paul and Chani is at the center.
- “Dune” from 2021 ended quite anticlimatically, Denis Villeneuve’s film told only the first half of the story.
- Now “Dune 2” is finally the sequel, in which Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, get to know the Fremen on Arrakis better.
- More than half a year before the movie’s release, Villeneuve now explains why the relationship between Chani and Paul is the film’s anchor.
The first trailer for “Dune 2” has so far only been shown to those in attendance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, but in a new Vanity Fair article, director Denis Villeneuve at least already revealed more about the eagerly awaited sequel that takes us deeper into the sandy dunes of Arrakis.
Dune 2: Part 2 and no sequel
Villeneuve emphasizes that “Dune – Part 2” is not a second film, but a direct sequel to “Dune – Part 1”. Thus, the plot will seamlessly follow the end of the first part, there is no time jump and no introduction. Good news for all science fiction fans who are planning a “Dune” double feature in the coming years.
This approach makes sense, of course; after all, the two “Dune” films together tell the story from the first “Dune” novel, “The Desert Planet” by Frank Herbert.
Dune 2: No suspense without emotion
For Villeneuve, “Dune 2” is an epic action film, but the battle for Spice and the future of Arrakis is too abstract if the audience is not emotionally involved. That’s why Villeneuve focuses on the love affair between Paul Atreides and Chani.
Paul’s desire for revenge, Chani’s fight for her homeworld, and their love for each other are the emotional core of the science fiction epic. Yet Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya found it difficult to portray the beginnings of their relationship believably.
It was fun to figure out in this futuristic space language, how do they flirt? What does that look like for a space warrior and the young duke of a planet? How do they show that they like each other? What does that even sound like? We were definitely trying to figure that out, which was funny because we were all stumped. I think it’s as foreign to us as it is to the characters.
It was fun to figure out in this futuristic space language, how do they flirt? What does that look like for a space warrior and the young duke of a planet? How do they show that they like each other? What does that even sound like? We were definitely trying to figure that out, which was funny because we were all stumped. I think it’s as foreign to us as it is to the characters.
Zendaya
In the end, that very insecurity was key, though there is the question of how such feelings would show up in a tough character like Chani. In addition, it must be kept in mind that while Frank Herbert’s book also featured the love affair between Chani and Paul, it did not specifically focus the story on them.
For the film, this approach certainly makes sense, in the further course of the plot, especially if more books are adapted, the whole story could change if Paul is now portrayed too much as a sympathetic figure. How successful Denis Villeneuve’s conclusion of the “Dune” two-parter ultimately is, we will find out in theaters from November 2, 2023.
