2021’s Dune did a great job of adapting a dense science fiction novel, but it only gave us half the story. That’s where Dune, Part Two comes in. This highly anticipated sequel covers the second half of Frank Herbert’s original novel, and it introduces a lot of new characters in the process.
Who are these new faces in the Dune-verse? How do they shake up an already complex storyline? Why exactly is Paul riding a Sandworm? Here’s what you need to know about Dune, Part Two after watching the first trailer.
Now, before we go any further, be warned: What follows could be seen as slightly spoilery if you don’t want to know about anything that happens in the film. We’re sticking to pretty basic character descriptions here, but still. Now that said, the spice must flow…
Paul Atreides: Worm Rider
Dune, Part Two may have a lot of new characters, but this is still very much the story of Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. The first movie ended on a down note, with Paul and his mother mourning the death of Oscar Isaac’s Duke Leto and the collapse of House Atreides.
The two have taken refuge with the nomadic Fremen in the desert, and the trailer shows us that Paul is adapting pretty well to this new life. He’s clearly grown close to Zendaya’s character Chani, who haunted his dreams in the first movie but will have a much more significant role in Part Two. Most of the story being adapted in Part Two takes place two years after the events of the first Dune, so their relationship has had plenty of time to blossom into romance.
Much of the trailer centers around Paul’s attempt to ride a Sandworm. We see him laying down a Thumper device, which attracts Sandworms due to its rhythmic pounding. Then we see Paul trying to hook one of the massive beasts when it surfaces. This sequence promises to be one of the biggest and most technologically impressive in the entire movie.
But why is Paul doing something so dangerous? In Fremen culture, riding a Sandworm is considered a rite of passage for young adults. Though the Fremen quickly begin to embrace Paul as their prophesied messiah, the Lisan al’Gaib, Paul can’t truly call himself a Fremen until he rides the worm. Only then can he begin his quest for revenge against the Harkonnens.
Lady Jessica’s Wild Ride
We see several glimpses of Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica in the new trailer. Jessica joins Paul in taking refuge with the Fremen. And like her son, Jessica enjoys a position of honor among these desert nomads, who are fascinated by her fighting abilities and seemingly supernatural powers.
Lady Jessica faces her own test in Dune, Part Two. Like the Bene Gesserit, the Fremen have their own Reverend Mothers that serve as the tribe’s spiritual leaders. Lady Jessica undergoes a ritual to become a Reverand Mother and awaken her genetic memories, which is what appears to be happening in the shot above. That ritual winds up profoundly transforming her and setting the stage for some major developments in both the original novel and its sequels.
Meet Princess Irulan
Among the new faces featured in the Dune, Part Two trailer, we meet Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan. Irulan is the daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. Marrying her is basically like inheriting the keys to the universe, which means she’s a key part of Baron Harkonnen’s plans for his family.
When we first see Irulan in the trailer, she appears to be recording her thoughts in an audio diary. Irulan is a skilled biographer and historian, and excerpts from her writings on Paul Muad’Dib appear as epigraphs throughout the original Dune novel.
Sadly, we don’t see a glimpse of Irulan’s father in the trailer. Dune fans are anxiously waiting to see what Christopher Walken’s Shaddam IV looks like, but that wait continues for now.
The Deadly Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
Stellan Skarsgard’s Baron Harkonnen is still alive and well after Duke Leto’s failed assassination attempt in the first movie, as is his nephew, Dave Bautista’s Beast Rabban. As if that weren’t bad enough, Paul and his new allies have a new enemy to contend with in Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Feyd-Rautha is Baron Harkonnen’s other nephew. Compared to Rabban, Feyd is more devious and cunning. He’s basically the dark antithesis of Paul - another offshoot of the Bene Gesserit’s efforts to create the genetically perfect being known as the Kwisatz Haderach. But where Paul is noble and heroic, Feyd is cruel and hateful.
He has the rank of na-Baron, meaning that he’s the one being groomed to replace his uncle when the time comes. The book and the previous Dune movies depict Feyd-Rautha as a handsome man very unlike the rest of the Harkonnen family. Who could forget Sting as the character in David Lynch’s film? But the new movie is veering in a different direction, with Feyd showing the same stark white, inhuman appearance as the rest of his family.
The trailer features a quick shot of what appears to be the ritualistic duel between Paul and Feyd. This is another enemy Paul will have to conquer before he can truly have his revenge against the Harkonnens.
Lady Margot and Count Fenring
The trailer also gives us a brief look at another major character joining the fray in the sequel. Léa Seydoux plays Lady Margot, a noblewoman who’s close to Shaddam IV. Margot also happens to be a member of the Bene Gesserit, making her every bit the antithesis of Lady Jessica that Feyd is of Paul.
Lady Margot and her husband, Count Fenring, have their own motivations that don’t necessarily align with those of the Emperor or Baron Harkonnen. Lady Margot also has an important connection to Feyd-Rautha, though we’ll have to see how much, if at all, the movie gets into that subplot.
As for Count Fenring, we don’t see any traces of him in the trailer. In fact, there’s no confirmation yet that the Count is even appearing in Dune, Part Two. But with Tim Blake Nelson recently having been cast in an unknown role, many fans are speculating he’ll be playing this master swordsman and politician.
Gurney Halleck’s New Role
The trailer brings back another familiar face in the form of Josh Brolin’s Gurney Halleck. Gurney is one of the few survivors of the Harkonnen attack from the first movie. Having failed to protect his Duke and believing Paul and Jessica to be dead, Gurney signs on with a group of smugglers on Arrakis. That puts Gurney at odds with the Fremen, however, as they don’t take kindly to anyone who profits from the Spice of Arrakis.
We don’t see the other major survivor of House Atreides, however. Stephen McKinley Henderson will reprise the role of Thufir Hauwat in Part Two. Expect a major status quo change for poor Thufir.
Thufir believes Lady Jessica betrayed her Duke, meaning he now lives only for revenge. Revenge is definitely shaping up to be a major theme in the sequel. The real test for men like Paul and Thufir is whether they can look beyond their selfish desire for revenge and do what needs to be done. And as we saw in the first movie, Paul’s path may involve the deaths of countless innocents before true peace can return to the universe.
Those are the new and returning faces you need to know in Dune, Part Two. Which character are you most excited to see in the sequel? Just how Walken-y will Christopher Walken’s Shaddam IV be? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Previously, Dune director Denis Villeneuve described the sequel as an "action-packed epic war movie," during CinemaCon last month, and said we'd "see Paul Atreides become a leader." The sequel hits theaters on November 3, 2023, after Warner Bros. moved up the release date by two weeks.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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