When Dune — the epic sci-fi film based on Frank Herbert’s influential novel of the same name — premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival nearly two years ago, a marked amount of criticism was leveraged at the story and how it felt “incomplete.” This was likely due to the fact that the story was, in fact, incomplete, given that director Denis Villeneuve always intended to cover the novel’s story over the course of two films, and Dune, believe it or not, is just one film.
But the critics in question will be able to retract their grievances soon enough, as Dune: Part Two gears up for its highly anticipated bow in cinemas later this year, and a brand-new trailer has brought the hype train to life with all the gusto of an angry sandworm.
With Duke Paul Atreides having aligned himself with the Fremen people following the events of Dune, the young protagonist now has revenge on the agenda as he seeks to wage a personal war on House Harkonnen, who tore his family apart and intend to do the very same to planet Arrakis. With Chani and the surviving members and allies of House Atreides both literally and figuratively at his side, Paul must enter the crosshairs of many an antagonistic force; some familiar, some new, and all menacing.
Timothée Chalamet reprises his role of Paul Atreides, while Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem also return for the sequel.
Newcomers to the Dune world include Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Tim Blake Nelson, and Austin Butler – who’s set to portray the terrifying new villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Dune: Part Two will release to cinemas on Nov. 3.