Dune 2 is right around the corner, and we finally know what critics think. For everything you need to know about our Dune: Part Two review, read on below, as well as the latest on the new movie. It's certainly been a long wait for the highly anticipated follow-up to Denis Villeneuve's award-winning blockbuster, after a series of delays pushed it back to its March release date.
Dune, released back in 2021, follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of a powerful Duke, whose entire life is thrown into chaos when his father Leto (Oscar Isaac) accepts a stewardship role on the hostile planet of Arrakis. The first film, which garnered over $400 million at the global box office despite being a simultaneous streaming release, is based on the first half of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel of the same name.
Chalamet returns as rebel leader Paul Atreides, with Zendaya's Chani at his side, to avenge his family and prevent a terrible future that only he can predict. The film was delayed four different times due to the SAG-AFTRA strike – and Villeneuve stayed busy writing a third installment (and a spin-off series based on the books has already been cast.)
If you're not up to date with everything Dune: Part Two, there's still time to catch up before the movie's release. We've rounded up the full cast, the plot (as told from Villeneuve himself), and all three trailers. Get ready to scroll.
Dune 2 release date
Dune: Part Two was originally meant to be released on October 20, 2023 before being pushed back to November 17 and then even further back to March 15, 2024 due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. Thanks to the strike eventually resolving, the film was able to move up its release date and is now set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024.
The official runtime is 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is only 11 minutes longer than Dune: Part One. Moviegoers can watch the film in IMAX 70mm at select theaters.
Dune 2 plot
Dune: Part One ends with Paul going against his mother's wishes and teaming up with the desert world's people, the Fremen, in an effort to free it from the evil Harkonnens – whom Paul's family has been fighting for centuries – and fulfill his father's goal of bringing peace to Arrakis. (And a sandworm swallows a bunch of people).
Dune: Part Two is the second of Denis Villeneuve's two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and picks up exactly where Part One left off. Per Variety, "Paul Atreides continues his journey, united with Chani and the Fremen, as he seeks revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family, and endeavors to prevent a terrible future that only he can predict."
The official logline for Dune: Part 2 reads: "Paul faces 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."
"The first movie was more meditative and contemplative. We were following a young man discovering a new planet, a new culture," Villeneuve explains in the 2024 preview issue of Total Film. "The second movie… it’s more of an action film than the first part. It’s more muscular."
"All of the elements are there," Villeneuve continued. "But I think the movie adaptation is more tragic than the book. The way that Part Two ends… it would create a total balance and equilibrium to finish Paul’s storyline in what we could say in Part Three."
Timothée Chalamet told Total Film all about the sandworm-riding scene (which is teased in the trailers), saying, "Beyond being an exciting sequence in the movie, it represents a coming of age, it’s where Paul’s supposed prophecy would fall flat, and it would mean his death if he can’t rise to the occasion. So the stakes of that moment are huge, and the doing of it was thrilling. It was industrial fans blowing sand, and a slab of worm was built. It was an amazing experience."
Dune 2 cast
As the world of Dune expands, so does its cast of heroes and villains. The usual suspects are back, save for Oscar Isaac's Leto who got (spoiler) in Part One.
New additions to the cast include Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, Souheila Yacoub as Shishakli, Christopher Walken as Padyszach Imperator Szaddam IV, and Tim Blake Nelson in an undisclosed role. Austin Butler plays the new big bad, Feyd-Rautha, who is the nephew and heir of Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen. Plus, Anya Taylor-Joy's surprise appearance at the world premiere confirmed the rumors that she had joined the cast for Part Two.
Zendaya's limited role as Chani in Part One will be greatly expanded in Part Two, even beyond the scope of the novel, with director Denis Villeneuve telling Total Film "as the movie progresses, there’s a shift in the main character, and Chani becomes my reference as a point of view."
"He was really able to build out a strong sense of [Chani’s] own views and life," Zendaya echoed. "It wasn’t entirely like she’s at the will of who she’s in love with. I did feel a particular sense of care for what Chani represents in his films."
Butler described his villain character to Total Film, saying, "Denis described him to me as having a psychotic nature, but yet there’s something sort of seductive about him as well. And he’s hungry for power. I started thinking: 'Well, how did he grow up? What would his voice sound like? How would he breathe? How would he move?' That was the real fun, where you start filling in all those details, and putting meat on the bone."
- Timothee Chalamet – Paul Atreides
- Zendaya – Chani
- Dave Bautista – Glossu Rabban Harkonnen
- Stephen McKinley Henderson – Thufir Hawat
- Charlotte Rampling – Gaius Helen Mohiam
- Josh Brolin – Gurney Halleck
- Stellan Skarsgård – Baron Harkonnen
- Javier Bardem – Stilgar
- Rebecca Ferguson – Lady Jessica
- Léa Seydoux – Lady Margot
- Florence Pugh – Princess Irulan
- Souheila Yacoub – Shishakli
- Christopher Walken – Padyszach Imperator Szaddam IV
- Austin Butler – Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen
- Tim Blake Nelson – TBD
- Anya Taylor-Joy – TBD
Dune 2 trailer
The first trailer for Dune: Part 2 was released in May 2023. The brief clip sees Florence Pugh's Princess Irluan ask, "What if Paul Atreides was still alive?" before cutting to Paul (Timothee Chalamet) riding a giant sandworm. We also meet Austin Butler's bald, toothless, and gray-scale portrayal of Feyd Rautha. A second trailer was released in June, which gives us a glimpse of a head-to-head fight between Paul and (scary and bald) Feyd-Rautha.
A third and final trailer was released in December 2023. In the clip, which can be viewed above, we see Paul team up with the Fremen people to take on the Harkonnens. "You've been fighting the Harkonnens for decades," he says. "My family has been fighting them for centuries." We're also treated to another glimpse at Butler's bald, toothless, and all-around frightening villain – who Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan refers to as "psychotic."
Dune 2 review
It's the full five stars for the hugely anticipated sequel. Total Film's reviewer writes: "Has Denis Villeneuve’s road always been leading into Frank Herbert’s desert? In 1998, his debut August 32nd on Earth showed a poetic feel for character and sandy landscapes; fish-eyed follow-up Maelström, meanwhile, revealed a surreal flair. His clout as an action director emerged later, but be assured: with outsized pomp, punch and weirding business, Part Two positions his Dune duology as one of the great mind-melds of director to material in modern fantasy filmmaking."
This follows on from the first reactions to Dune 2, which poured in after the world premiere.
For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond.
