Denis Villeneuve’s second part to his Dune saga had its first full trailer release to the joy and excitement of fans everywhere. It definitely gives fans of the films and the novels what they were waiting for. But it presents with a lesser sense of pathos and no real dramatic punch to the heart like what was delivered in the first full trailer for Dune: Part One (2021). In short, the trailer is light on the wow factor.
The trailer for Dune was a masterpiece. The music, the visuals, the line delivery from the cast, the special effects all served as parts of a finely tuned machine that fired on all cylinders for those familiar with the novels and newcomers alike. It delivered character introductions, highlighted plot points and conflict, who the antagonists were, leading to a perfect climax that showed us a visual of a sandworm. If you knew the story of Dune, you could pick out who the characters were, even without their names being given. You could identify key story moments from the visual content. And I can’t say enough about how emotionally impactful the music was. While the musical score is retained in this trailer for part two, it still seemed to be missing some of these other qualities.
It may not sound like it, but I did like what we were given in this new peek at the upcoming film, and I’m a huge fan of director Denis Villeneuve. So, I feel confident that when this movie hits theaters, we will all bask in its glory. Part of the problem is that now we’ve all been exposed to the director’s lavish vision for these films. So, naturally, it’s hard to recreate the impression we got when we first saw what Villeneuve had in store for us. Even though there weren’t many surprises presented in this trailer for part two, there are a few reveals that are worth noting.
We get to see Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan Corrino. The Princess plays a role in Paul’s (Timothée Chalamet) future that grows more important as the events that shape the planet Arrakis progress. We also get our first glimpse of Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, a Harkonnen heir bent on killing Paul. It’s their conflict that fans are anxiously waiting to see, as it’s one of the key moments in Paul’s journey that propels him as a leader.
The one bit of wow that we were given was seeing Paul in his attempt to ride a sandworm. Given the scale of these creatures, as shown in part one, this was bound to be an impressive focal point in the flow of this film. And Villeneuve did not disappoint, as this looks to be a scene truly deserving of the IMAX treatment. Knowing the director’s visual style, I’m sure there will be several moments sprinkled throughout the movie that will take full advantage of the format. Here the cinematography makes it look almost like Paul is fighting and conquering a force of nature rather than a creature, and it’s very impressive.
Again, we have director Denis Villeneuve paired with writer Jon Spaihts, who is worth paying attention to with credits like Prometheus (2012), Doctor Strange (2016), Passengers (2016), and the underrated The Mummy (2017) to his resume. The handling of the material was so well crafted in Dune part one that I have all the confidence in the world that part two will be equally moving.
Dune: Part Two hits theatres on November 3, 2023. Check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.