Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures‘ Dune: Part Two, the anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Oscar-winning Dune. Denis Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he and Jon Spaihts wrote based on Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel.
The first film’s writing team of Spaihts, Villeneuve and Eric Roth were nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, making expectations high for sequel, which has delivered, grossing $714 million worldwide since its global release in March.
Set thousands of years in the future and picking up where Dune left off, Dune: Part Two again follows the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a young man propelled by fate into an intergalactic power struggle. Paul was given the ultimate test after the murder of his father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), in Dune: to conquer his fears when fate — and powerful unseen forces — pull him into the sands of the remote planet Arrakis.
Exploring themes both timeless and timely, from romantic and maternal love to globalism, loyalty, revenge and catharsis, the film also furthers Herbert’s ecological themes in this tale about humanity versus nature.
“In Dune: Part One, Paul Atreides loses the only world he knows: Caladan, and the courtly society of the Great Houses. In Dune: Part Two, Paul gains a new world — the desert of Arrakis, where he must survive, prove himself, and find a way to belong,” Spaihts says about how he approached the script. He continues: “[Paul] risks his life to make common cause with the Fremen, the powerful people of the desert that he deeply admires. Part One was a terrible crucible in which Paul came of age. In Part Two, Paul must become a man in the eyes of the Fremen. Only then can he take control of his destiny, charting a course through the desert toward revenge.”
“Frank Herbert wanted Dune to serve as a cautionary tale about imperialism and the allure of ‘saviors.’ Denis and I wanted to make sure this message rang out clearly in the film. In the novel, much of the Fremen point of view lives in the interior monologues of various characters. We needed to pull those arguments into the action. That meant elevating Chani (played by Zendaya) in the latter chapters of the story, and giving her voice greater power,” explains Spaihts.
DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO:
At the core of the action is a timeless conflict between the forces of good and evil. On one side are the Fremen, a representation of humanity fighting for the collective survival of the native people and of Arrakis. On the other side lies the Harkonnen, a family of ruthless despots led by the sadistic Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista), the monstrous Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård), and the ambitious Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), who represent the manifestation of corruption, violence and greed.
Where they meet is the conflicted story of Paul, leaning into Chani’s fierceness and the wisdom of Stilgar (Javier Bardem) to gain the trust and support of the Fremen people, while the Harkonnens continue to ravage the sands of Arrakis for spice — though their efforts do not go unopposed, further enraging them and leading to an all-out war.
Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Charlotte Rampling, Anya Taylor-Joy and Léa Seydoux also star.
Read the script below.
English (US) ·