Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for 'Dune: Part Two'
The Big Picture
- Paul Atreides unites with the Fremen seeking revenge against House Harkonnen and the Emperor.
- After uniting the Fremen to defeat their enemies, Paul ascends to leadership with Chani by his side.
- In a deviation from the novel, Chani rejects Paul and leaves, setting the stage for future changes.
Dune Part Two is finally out in theaters, and the new film completes the adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic, seminal science fiction novel. Denis Villeneuve brings his vision of Herbert's novel to life in an epic sci-fi spectacle. While Dune Part Two completes the first novel in the Dune series, it's technically only the beginning of the legend of Paul Atreides, known to his Fremen followers as Muad'Dib. Now that Dune Part Two is in the books, it’s time to look at how the movie ends.
Dune: Part Two
PG-13 Sci-FiDramaActionAdventure810Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.
- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Cast
- Timothee Chalamet , Stellan Skarsgård , Florence Pugh , Zendaya , Rebecca Ferguson , Javier Bardem
- Runtime
- 166 minutes
Where Did 'Dune' Leave Us?
Part Two of Dune largely covers the original novel's middle and back half portions. The noble House Atreides, led by Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), takes over the fiefdom of planet Arrakis under the order of the galactic Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken). Planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, is a desert wasteland, but it’s also the most valuable planet in the galaxy since it is the source of the invaluable spice melange, aka "the Spice." The spice is a valuable substance because it expands consciousness, extends lifespans, and makes interstellar travel and trade possible. If the spice does not flow, universal civilization does not go. However, the Emperor and House Harkonnen used the guise of Arrakis' fiefdom as part of an elaborate conspiracy to eradicate the House Atreides from existence.
Betrayed by the Emperor and House Atreides' blood rivals, House Harkonnen, Leto, and his family are usurped and hunted down on Arrakis. In the previous film, Leto's son, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), and Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), are forced to flee from the capital city of Arrakeen after they escape Harkonnen incarceration. They take refuge among the Fremen, a tribe of humans native to planet Arrakis, who also hate the Harkonnens due to their oppressive rule over the planet and its people. A deeply superstitious and religious people, the Fremen seek a savior called the Mahdi to free them from oppression and turn Arrakis into a lush paradise once again.
Dune Part Two picks up not long after the end of the previous film, as Jessica and Paul have joined the Fremen tribe led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem). The Fremen are leery of letting the outsiders join them, but Paul seeks to ingratiate himself with the Fremen and learn their ways, so he can join their fight against Harkonnen and get revenge for the murder of his father. He soon attracts the attention of another Fremen warrior, Chani (Zendaya), and the two embark on a romantic relationship. Stilgar and other Fremen suspect Paul could be the messiah long prophesied by the Fremen, who will liberate the planet and lead them into a new golden age. Paul is aware that the prophecy is little more than deeply rooted propaganda invented by a plot by the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Paul's mother was previously a member of the Bene Gesserit's ranks, but she betrayed their cause by siring Paul with Duke Leto. The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, led by Gaius Helen Mohaim (Charlotte Rampling), seeks to influence human civilization through a complex breeding program to create a messianic figure called the "Kwisatz Haderach," a person who can be in many places at once.
The Fremen Strike Back
After Paul's mother accepts a position as the Fremen's new Reverend Mother, she preaches the legend of her son as the Fremen's new messiah among their more fanatical and superstitious members. Paul avoids the role, fearing it could lead to bloodshed and genocide, wanting to help the Fremen strike back at the Harkonnen through more conventional means. Chani counts herself among the more moderate, progressive members of her people, in contrast to the more religious, fanatical southern tribes. She, too, believes the Fremen should be the ones to free themselves from the Harkonnen and not wait for a magical messiah. The raids on Harkonnen Spice outposts are largely successful, and Paul integrates among the Fremen by fighting alongside them and learning how to ride Arrakis' giant sandworms, Shai-Hulud.
While the Fremen raids against the Harkonnen are initially successful, things take a turn for the worse after the bloody Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) makes his nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), the new leader of the Harkonnen on Arrakis due to the failure of Feyd's elder brother, Rabban (Dave Bautista), to bring the Fremen uprising under heel. After Feyd-Rautha obliterates the Fremen's northern home base of Sietch Tabr, Paul no longer sees any other way to defeat the Harkonnens and their enemies other than enacting his mother's plan to accept his role as the Mahdi of the Fremen.
Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold
Paul travels to the Fremen's southern Sietch, performing the ritual of the Waters of Life, which is normally restricted only to Fremen priestesses or the individual destined to become their Mahdi. In truth, the Waters of Life is a potentially lethal dosage of toxic fluid taken from an infant sandworm. After ingesting the substance, it grants Paul extreme hyper-awareness, as he's able to vividly see the past, present, and visions of the future. Using his expanded abilities, Paul asserts his role as leader of all the Fremen, playing into their superstitions that he is their savior, much to Chani's chagrin. However, the action unites all the Fremen into action under the leadership of Paul Muad'Dib, the new Duke of Arrakis.
'Dune: Part Two' Review: Timothée Chalamet’s Sci-Fi Epic Is Bigger Than Ever — and That’s Not Always a Good Thing
Denis Villeneuve completes the first part of his epic based on Frank Herbert's series.While conducting raids on Arrakis, Paul reunites with Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), one of his Atreides bodyguards and retainers, before House Harkonnen lays siege to the planet. Halleck grants Paul and the Fremen access to the Atreides' armory and a stockpile of atomic weapons hidden on Arrakis. So now, Paul and the Fremen have an entire arsenal to regain control of the planet. They stage a gigantic battle, overwhelming the combined forces of the Harkonnen soldiers along with the Emperor's elite Sardaukar warriors. The Emperor was drawn to the planet by a message and challenge from Paul, who was believed dead when House Atreides was overthrown.
The Harkonnen and Corrino's forces are overwhelmed by the Atreides atomics and the Fremen's desert power with the Sandworms. The Fremen breach the capital city of Arrakeen, taking all the royals prisoner, including the Emperor, his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), Mohiam, Feyd-Rautha, and Baron Harkonnen. Gurney easily executes Rabban when he attempts to flee the planet during the battle. After Paul arrives in the throne room, he takes his time stabbing Baron Harkonnen in the neck out of revenge for his father.
A Game of Intergalactic Chess
In a last-ditch attempt to regain control, the Emperor challenges Paul to trial by combat with Feyd-Rautha as his representative champion. In a brutal, furious battle, Paul defeats Feyd-Rautha, his biological cousin, fatally stabbing the Harkonnen heir. Paul then usurps the Emperor’s throne, seeking Princess Irulan's hand in marriage to cement his claim, which angers Chani, who sees Paul's political play as a romantic rejection. If anyone refutes his claim, Paul threatens to bring an end to all Spice production using the stockpile of atomic weapons.
While the Emperor and Irulan have no choice but to accept Paul’s offer, the rest of the Great Houses of noble families across the galaxy reject Paul's ascendance to the throne. Seeing no other route, Paul starts a literal holy war, having his Fremen warriors spread his message across the galaxy to any who reject his rule. Paul recognizes that there is no other alternative and that he must now accept the same path he previously sought to avoid.
In a significant deviation from the original novel, Chani rejects this outcome. After Paul accepts Irulan's betrothal and begins his ascendance to the throne and veritable godhood, she leaves Arrakeen. The film ends with Chani summoning a giant sandworm, leaving the city of Arrakeen behind. The camera closes in on her face as she rides away on the worm toward an uncertain future.
The Legend of Paul Muad'Dib
Although this is the ending point of the first novel in Herbert's saga, the story of Paul Atreides is merely just beginning. The next novel in the series is Dune Messiah, which marks the continuation of Paul's journey after sparking an interstellar holy war with the entire galaxy. However, the first novel did not end with Chani rejecting Paul and the current outcome of events. If Villeneuve continues with the series and plots out future films for the franchise, it remains to be seen how this massive change will alter the outcome or trajectory of the storyline.
Chani's choice in the final act has massive implications. It would require additional significant changes in any potential future adaptations of the Dune saga. While it does take the storyline into uncharted territory, it's also a change that is both confusing and frustrating. If the idea is to adapt the novels, how does the storyline get back on track after Chani's decision, which is the opposite of what happened in the books? Perhaps any future adaptations will make similar massive changes to the source material.
Dune: Part Two is now playing in theaters in the U.S.
