Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune continues in Dune: Part Two, with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) becoming the messianic conqueror he feared he would.
The Dune books were once considered too complicated to adapt, even considered unfilmable, but Villeneuve has managed to condense the story into its base elements, delivering the broad strokes of this inter-generational, intergalactic conflict.
Dune: Part Two is visually spectacular; Villeneuve is a master at worldbuilding with few words, and most strikingly, depicting the scale of this conflict.
You can really feel the weight of the almighty spaceships and war machines — one standout scene on Giedi Prime, the menacing homeworld of House Harkonnen, boasts a gargantuan arena packed with braying, bloodthirsty crowds — the setting could have easily blurred into meaningless mush in the hands of another filmmaker.
Villeneuve also communicates just enough for non-book readers to understand, but knowing some of those omitted details makes for a more satisfying watch.
While David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune is considered a failure, I’d recommend it as a companion piece to Villeneuve’s, as Lynch fills in many of the details that Villeneuve skips over (plus, the contrasting visual approach is worth checking out).
What Is ‘Dune: Part Two’ Really About?
The original Dune was released in 1965, and has been criticized for being a clunky product of its time, but simultaneously, heralded for being ahead of its time.
The books explicitly critique the “Chosen One” trope that Hollywood loves so dearly — ironically, many of the films that have taken inspiration from Dune (Star Wars: A New Hope and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) feature triumphant “Chosen One” protagonists who fulfill the hopes of their followers.
In Dune, Paul Atreides is a twisted “Chosen One” following a prophecy designed to manipulate the indigenous Fremen of the planet Arrakis, the source of the spice which fuels all space travel.
Dune: Part One saw Paul’s family, House Atreides, wiped out after falling into a trap laid by the brutal House Harkonnen and the Emperor, whose role in the betrayal is kept secret.
In Dune: Part Two, Paul has proved himself to the Fremen people, and is steadily ascending through the ranks, prompting many of the religious fundamentalists of the group to declare him the “Lisan al Gaib.”
Within the Fremen, there are also skeptics who recognize that they are being manipulated, such as Chani (Zendaya), who is Paul’s love interest.
The film sees the interests of the Ruling Houses, the Bene Gesserit, the Fremen, and Paul collide, sparking a destructive conflict that will play out in the planned sequel, thanks to the manipulative myth of the Lisan al Gaib.
What Is The Lisan al Gaib?
The Lisan al Gaib is a messiah prophesied to lead the Fremen to victory against their oppressors, and bring water to the barren planet.
The witchy coven of the Bene Gesserit, a female-only religious order, has been deliberately manipulating the religious beliefs of other worlds in order to control them. In Arrakis, the group has cultivated the myth of the Lisan al Gaib, ensuring that the prophecy can be fulfilled under their own terms, if need be.
Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (played by a scene-stealing Rebecca Ferguson), are using the “Chosen One” myth cultivated by the Bene Gesserit to seize power, although this isn’t quite the plan the order intended.
The Bene Gesserit have their own “Chosen One” aim that they are working to fulfill, the “Kwisatz Haderach,” and Lady Jessica ruined it.
What Is The Kwisatz Haderach?
Spice allows the Bene Gesserit access to the genetic memories of their ancestors, but only on the female side.
To combat this, the order has been experimenting with breeding programs, attempting to engineer a male member of the order, the Kwisatz Haderach, who would unlock access to the male side of the genetic lineage.
As a neat bonus, the Kwisatz Haderach will be gifted with the ability to see the future.
To create the Kwisatz Haderach, Lady Jessica was supposed to give birth to a baby girl, but chose to give birth to Paul instead, out of love for Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac).
Paul appears to have developed the precognitive abilities of the Kwisatz Haderach, enhanced after drinking the potent spice dose known as the Water of Life.
The Bene Gesserit intended Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to be involved in this breeding program, but in Dune: Part Two, they view him as a potential candidate, which is why Lady Margot (Léa Seydoux) administers the “pain box” test that Paul endured in the first film.
The Ending To ‘Dune: Part Two,’ Explained
While Paul is morally conflicted by his role as a messianic leader, he soon changes his mind and wholeheartedly embraces the prophecy, even though he understands its origin.
Paul’s “breaking bad” moment coincides with a revelation, where he learns that he is related to the Harkonnens, with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) revealed to be his grandfather.
Throughout the film, Paul has experienced nightmarish visions of a terrible war, with billions of casualties, that will inevitably be sparked if he chooses the role of the Fremen’s messiah. Eventually, Paul seems to view that terrible conflict as the price of success, emulating the merciless strategies of House Harkonnen.
Paul combines the combat methods of the Bene Gesserit, and their pre-planned prophecy to lead the Fremen to victory after victory. The Harkonnens, with their penchant for murdering their own men, continue to underestimate their enemy.
With a bit of skill, luck and an arsenal of nuclear weapons, Paul manages to defeat and humiliate the Harkonnens. Paul is able to threaten the Emperor by promising to decimate all spice production if he does not accept Paul’s demands.
The Emperor reluctantly accepts Paul’s ascendance to the throne, which the other Houses do not accept — the great war is about to begin. Paul is fulfilling his destiny as the “Chosen One,” and the result will be the death of countless innocents.
Chani is horrified by Paul’s transformation, having originally been won over by his sincerity and reluctance to play into the prophecy (this, along with other changes, is markedly different from the role Chani plays in the books).
We’ll see the horrors of Paul’s ambition play out in Dune: Messiah, if Villeneuve manages to complete his planned trilogy.
The Chosen One Trope Is Being Subverted, Again
It’s interesting to see how Star Wars, the behemoth franchise inspired by Dune, has faded in recent years, while Villeneuve’s vision of Dune now dominates the big screen.
Star Wars first featured an earnest “Chosen One” narrative with Luke Skywalker’s triumphant journey, but the prequels later subverted the trope with Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the Dark Side.
The Disney sequels didn’t seem to know whether to lean into the trope or subvert it, and suffered from stilted storytelling as a result.
With Dune: Part Two, the creative inspiration has come full circle.