20 facts you might not know about 'Dune: Part Two'

It is not uncommon for a planned sequel, or sequels, to be axed because the first film in the series tanked. However, “Dune,” even as an overt adaptation of only the first half of the “Dune” novel, was not guaranteed to have a chance to finish the story. Only Denis Villenueve’s first film was greenlit by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., and there were no production contracts for a second film. It was agreed that “Dune” had to be a success before a second movie was signed off on.

“Dune” was a 2021 film, when the movie industry was still reeling from COVID-19. As such, Warner Bros. planned to release “Dune” in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time. Ugh, remember the scourge of simultaneous release? When the first movie proved to be a hit, Warner Bros. was enthused about the second movie. However, Villenueve had one condition to signing on that he described as “non-negotiable.” He wanted a 45-day theatrical run before the movie was released in any other format. The studios agreed.

The French director did not want to drag his feet on getting the second part of his story in theaters if it got greenlit. In 2019, Jon Spaihts, who co-write “Dune” with Villenueve and Eric Roth, was pulled from a planned “Dune” TV series, where he was to be the showrunner, to work on the script for “Dune: Part Two.” Then, Villenueve started tweaking the script for “Part Two” after “Dune” was released, but before the confirmation of the sequel, so that it would be prepped to be shot immediately. The script for “Part Two” was finished in March of 2022.

Roth was credited on “Dune,” and it’s not like he eschewed working on the second part. In fact, at one point he wrote an entire treatment for “Part Two.” However, he was less involved in this film. Only Villenueve and Spaihts are credited screenwriters. Roth, as well as Craig Mazin, is noted as having contributed “additional literary material.”

Villenueve did not simply replicate Frank Herbert’s “Dune” novel on the big screen. Feeling that he had “the benefit of time” from a story-crafting perspective, the writer-director played Paul’s character arc differently, and he also beefed up the role of Chani from the novel. Having cast Zendaya in that role probably helped influence that as well. Villenueve made Paul more of an antihero, in line with Herbert’s original idea for the character. Also, feeling the novel did not adequately describe the sandworms, he felt free to depict them as he saw fit.

Several roles not featured in the first film had to be cast for “Part Two” once it was greenlit. That included Christopher Walken as the Emperor of the Known Universe and Florence Pugh as his daughter Princess Irulan, another role beefed up from the novel. Then, there is the role of Feyd-Rautha, which went to Austin Butler. That casting actually proved fairly simple for both director and actor. The two met for coffee, and Villenueve cast Butler without the actor even auditioning.

Of the new roles, Feyd-Rautha was the meatiest, and Butler drew a lot of intrigue as a young actor on the rise. He really dedicated himself to the role, including training for four months under the guidance of a former Navy SEAL. For the role of the psychopathic killer, Butler was inspired by snakes and sharks, but also the performances of Gary Oldman and Heath Ledger. Butler based his character’s voice on Stellen Skarsgard’s vocal choices for Baron Harkonnen as well.

Stephen McKinley Henderson film scenes for “Part Two” reprises his role as Thufir Hawat, but they were cut from the final film. Additionally, Tim Blake Nelson was announced as being cast in a role that was not disclosed. We have yet to find out who he was playing, as Nelson’s scenes were also cut. Villenueve gave both actors a thanks in the end credits anyway.

Getting Anya Taylor-Joy to play the role of an unborn child is impressive, but “Dune: Part Two” pulled it off. He cast Taylor-Joy as Alia Atreides, Paul’s unborn sister. It helps that Paul sees a vision of her as a grown woman thanks to the worm poison he drinks, and also that Taylor-Joy could do some voiceover since Lady Jessica talks to her daughter in her womb. Evidently it also helps that the world of “Dune” is bananas. Taylor-Joy’s role is an uncredited cameo, and her involvement was not known until she showed up at the movie’s premiere in London. Villenueve was impressed, and pleased, it stayed secret so long.

Villenueve wanted to use new locations and sets to keep “Part Two” from feeling repetitive. The film primarily shot in Budapest and Abu Dhabi. However, scenes were also shot in Jordan and Italy. A special unit was sent to Namibia to shoot Taylor-Joy’s scene, which may have also helped keep it under wraps. They were actually able to do some filming during a partial eclipse, which was used during the opening fight scene.

One of the big set pieces, perhaps the defining set piece, is when Paul rides the sandworm. A gigantic work was not built, obviously, but a section of the worm was built to give the Timothee Chalamet and the crew a reference point. However, Chalamet filmed atop a platform with sand being blown around the set with an industrial fan. Not that it was a breeze by any means. It took them roughly three months to film the sandworm scene in fits and starts of 20-to-30 minute filming sessions.

Both Chalamet and Butler trained, separately, with an instructor in the martial art of Kali for their climatic fight scene. Once the two got to Budapest they immediately began practicing the scene together. It paid off, as Butler and Chalamet were able to film the whole fight scene themselves, including the wide-action shots that could have easily been done with stunt doubles. Those two weren’t the only ones who enjoyed a physical shoot. Rebecca Ferguson said her favorite scene to shoot was when Lady Jessica drinks the “water of life” to become the Reverend Mother, and worked with contortionists on it.

For “Dune,” the iconic Hans Zimmer won his second Best Original Score Oscar. Not that he has been bereft of acknowledgement, as he has 12 Oscar nominations total. Zimmer actually got ahead of things, beginning to record the score for “Part Two” before the movie was even officially greenlit. He actually finished about 90 minutes of the score early, and Villenueve listened to it to inspire himself while working on the screenplay.

While things were easier than being released in the wake of COVID-19, things weren’t exactly a breeze for “Dune: Part Two.” It was scheduled to be released on October 20, 2023, but then got pushed to November 17. Then, it was moved up to November 3 to avoid too much competition from other studios. Then, the SAG-AFTRA strike happened, and suddenly the movie’s hugely-popular young stars would have been unable to promote it. Thus, it was pushed all the way until March 15, 2024, but then, again, got moved up to March 1.

“Dune: Part Two” debuted atop the domestic box office to the tune of $82.5 million. That doubled the opening weekend of “Dune,” which of course was impacted by COVID-19 to some degree. The sequel benefited quite a bit by IMAX, as Warner Bros. went all-in on that format after the massive success of “Oppenheimer.” It made $18.5 in IMAX screenings that first weekend, a new record for a March release.

While “Kung Fu Panda 4” pushed “Dune: Part Two” to second in the box office by its second week, Villenueve’s film stayed there through its fourth week in theaters. Also, it took only a week for it to clear the box office of “Dune.” All told, the sequel film made $711.8 million worldwide, and $282.1 million domestically. Both are better than “Kung Fu Panda 4,” though the juggernaut “Inside Out 2” and the latest installment in a popular family-friendly franchise “Despicable Me 4” were always likely to best it. Still, when all is said and done, “Dune” will be a top-10 movie, and probably a top five movie, at the box office.

“Dune: Part Two” also got a ton of critical love, and it has a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (and a 79 on Metacritic, which is quite good over there). It has some famous fans as well. Steven Spielberg called it, “one of the most brilliant science fiction films I have ever seen.” James Cameron called it “pure cinema.” When two sci-fi icons love your movie, you’ve done well.

“Dune: Part Two” has gotten some early Oscar buzz (in a down year for traditional Oscar movies, a Best Picture nomination could be in the offing). Some awards bodies are already handing out nominations, and this violent PG-13 film thick with sci-fi jargon got a couple nominations we didn’t expect. The Kids’ Choice Awards, yes the Nickelodeon award show, handed it two nominations. We kind of get Zendaya being up for Favorite Movie Actress. That could be pure movie stardom from somebody in the “Spider-Man” movies who was a kids’ TV star herself not all that long ago. However, Butler is also up for Favorite Villain. You know, for playing Feyd-Rautha. The violent psychopath who feeds human organs to his harem.

Hey, this time we aren’t annoyed with Villenueve and Warner Bros. “Dune: Part Two” finishes the story of the novel “Dune,” but there are more books in that series. That is to say Villenueve is not done. The director has talked about making a third “Dune” movie based on “Messiah,” the second book in the series. Well, that’s happening now. It’s officially been announced, though Villenueve may wait a bit, as “Messiah” is set 12 years after “Dune,” so Chalamet may need to age some. The director has said that this movie will round out a trilogy and be his final “Dune” movie. We hope we can believe him, and get some finality at the end of this one.

Spaihts may have left the project, with Alison Schapker now the showrunner, but “Dune: Prophecy” is happening. Originally titled “Dune: The Sisterhood,” the show is centered on the Bene Gesserit, the witchlike organization found in “Dune.” The show is a prequel, and we emphasize the “pre,” as the show is set 10,000 years before the events of “Dune.” “The Prophecy” was initially going to be a Max show, but now it will also air on HBO proper and debuts in November 2024.