DUNE EXPLAINED
Welcome to the Megaplex Theatres fandom page dedicated to Dune. Prepare yourself for the upcoming film by revisiting the immersive world of Dune. Delve into the rich lore, characters, and stories woven by Frank Herbert, and discover more about the filmmakers behind this cinematic adaptation. Experience Dune: Part Two in IMAX at Megaplex Theatres on March 1st.
Dune: Part Two NOW PLAYING in theaters
DUNE: PART ONE – RECAP
The following summary contains spoilers for Dune (2021).
Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) is our young hero. His father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) reigns over the rocky shores of the planet Caladan. Yet, destiny weaves a complex tapestry, as the sinister Emperor (Christopher Walken) orders the Atreides to take governance over the desolate desert planet, Arrakis. The Atreides family must leave the comfort of Caladan and move to the harsh and unforgiving climate of Arrakis.
Arrakis is home to a sparkly psychedelic drug called Spice. However, Arrakis stands alone as the sole repository of this coveted substance, making it a veritable treasure trove for those who possess the means to mine and refine it. This enigmatic substance, with its shimmering and psychedelic allure, stands as the most coveted and valuable commodity in the universe and plays a central role in the story. Spice, with its mind-altering properties, not only has the power to expand consciousness but also is essential to space travel, rendering it indispensable to the factions vying for supremacy. In the 1984 film adaptation of Dune, the villainous Baron Harkonnen explains, “He who controls the Spice controls the universe.”
Before House Atreides was commanded by the Emperor to take control of Arrakis, the desert planet was firmly held in the iron grip of House Harkonnen. The Harkonnens ruled as cruel tyrants on Arrakis and serve as the major villains in the Dune story. As stewards of Arrakis for 80 years, the Harkonnens became obscenely rich and were furious when the Emperor replaced them with their long-standing rivals, House Atreides. Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) is the leader of the Harkonnens and plans to take control over Arrakis and spice production once again.
In Dune (2021) The Baron has a revealing conversation with his nephew, Rabban (Dave Bautista). Furious about losing power on Arrakis, Rabban asks “Uncle, how did we let this happen? How can the Emperor take everything we’ve built and give it to that Duke? How?” The Baron responds by explaining the hidden motive to the Emperor’s command, the Baron says “The Atreides Voice is rising and the Emperor is a jealous man. A dangerous, jealous man.” The Emperor has become jealous of House Atreides’ growing power, by orchestrating the transfer of power to the Duke, the Emperor seeks to quash this rising threat of House Atreides while maintaining plausible deniability, using the Harkonnens to mask his involvement. In other words, the Atreides are following a trap meticulously laid out by their adversaries.
Bolstered by the Emporer’s secret reinforcements, the Harkonnens unleashed a sneak attack against the Atreides on Arrakis. Amidst the chaos of the battle, Duke Leto is murdered and betrayed with the Baron reclaiming his hold on Arrakis. Paul Atreides, fueled by instinct and desperation, narrowly escapes the clutches of death alongside his steadfast mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).
Paul and Jessica’s flight into the merciless expanse of the desert thrusts them into a harrowing struggle for survival, where monstrous sandworms loom as ominous guardians of the dunes. It isn’t long until the Fremen discover Paul and Jessica. The Fremen are a group of people native to the desert and hesitant to embrace Paul and Jessica. It isn’t until an aggressive Fremen challenges Paul to a knife duel where Paul proves himself worthy of the Fremen’s trust.
Dune: Part Two (2024) continues Paul Atreides’ journey as he embraces the ways of the Fremen and falls in love with Chani (Zendaya), a fierce warrior. Amidst his quest for revenge against those who destroyed his family, Paul faces opposition from the Harkonnens and the Emperor. Haunted by visions of a violent future, he must choose between love and the fate of the universe. As he unites with Chani and the Fremen, Paul endeavors to alter the course of destiny and prevent the catastrophic future he foresees.
To learn more about the Bene Gesseritx, the Fremen, House Atreides, and the creators of Dune continue reading below!
WHAT ARE THE BENE GESSERIT?
The Bene Gesserit are a powerful organization of women often compared to witches. Lady Jessica (played by Rebecca Furgeson) is a Bene Gesserit and plays a crucial role in the Dune story, as Duke Leto’s (Oscar Isaac) romantic partner and also as Paul’s (Timothee Chalament) mother. Lady Jessica trains Paul in the ways of the Bene Gesserit. In Dune (2021) we see Lady Jessica mentoring Paul, asking him to practice using a Bene Gesserit technique called “the Voice”. While Paul is still a novice at the technique he shows great potential, much to the disappointment of Gauis Helen Mohiam, Jessica’s mentor and former instructor.
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a Reverend Mother and an influential character in the Dune universe, often developing secret plans to further the goals of the Bene Gesserit. As the leader of the Bene Gesserit, Mohiam is extremely skilled at “the Voice.” In an article by Jimmy Jangles published by The Astromech, he explains that “the Voice” is a technique mastered by the Bene Gesserit, “It is a combination of vocal control, body language, and psychological manipulation that can be used to compel others to do what the user wants.” Read More Here
The Bene Gesserit has a plan to produce someone called the Kwisatz Hadarach, a male Bene Gesserit who has prescient abilities and contains the memories of their ancestors. The Kwisatz Hadarach would be a powerful person whom the Bene Gesserit would use to help them gain more power and eventually put a Bene Gesserit person on the throne. With Paul as a male with noble lineage and Bene Gesserit training, it is speculated that Paul will become the Kwisatz Hadarach. In Dune (2021) Paul is faced with nightmares and visions about the future and his potential to become the Kwisatz Hadarach as well as his involvement in a large war.
Training and producing a male Bene Gesserit goes against the plans and instructions of Gaius Helen Mohiam. A male was intended to be produced at a future date, however, Lady Jessica bears a son (Paul) thus disrupting the plans of the Bene Gesserit. Lady Jessica disobeyed her orders to bear only daughters because of her love for Duke Leto and his wish to have a son. If Paul is the Kwisatz Hadarach this would be bad news for the Bene Gesserit as Paul is not loyal to the Bene Gesserit.
WHO ARE THE FREMEN?
The Fremen are a group of people known for their iconic blue within-blue eyes. The Fremen’s blue eyes are due to the constant consumption and exposure to Spice. Spice plays a vital role in the Dune story. Without Spice, space travel (among other abilities) would not be possible. Arrakis, the desert planet, is the one and only source of Spice. Although Arrakis is heavily sought after due to the Spice, Arrakis is also incredibly dangerous and a strenuous environment to live in.
The Fremen are natives of Arrakis and thrive on Arrakis due to their experience navigating the desert and their expertise with sandworms and collecting Spice. In the deep desert, Fremen live in villages called sietches. In Dune (2021) we are introduced to a Fremen leader named Stilgar (Javier Bardem), the leader of Sietch Tabr. Living in this tribe is the Fremen woman named Chani (Zendaya).
Before the Atredies family was assigned to govern Arrakis, the Harkonnens ruled the planet. The Harkonnens cruel rule and spice harvesting caused the Fremen to despise the Harkonnens. Because of their past experiences with outsider rulers on Arrakis, the Fremen are jaded and suspicious of outsiders such as Paul and Lady Jessica. It isn’t until Paul proves himself in a knife battle against another Fremen that Stilgar and the Fremen begin to accept Paul and Lady Jessica into their tribe.
Many Fremen believe in a prophecy about someone called the Lisan al Gaib, an off-worlder messiah who will lead the Fremen to victory and liberation. In Dune (2021) in conversation with Lady Jessica, Gaius Helen Mohiam says, “On Arrakis, we have done all we can for you. A path has been laid. Let’s hope he doesn’t squander it.” In this scene, we get a hint of the Bene Gesserit plan. It is suggested that the Lisan al Gaib is not a myth that is natural to the Fremen, the Bene Gesserit have been manufacturing a narrative and spreading the myth of the Lisan al Gaib throughout Arrakis for many generations. Preparing a way for a person (of the Bene Gesserit’s choosing) to take the mantle of the Lisan al Gaib. Some Fremen suspect that Paul may be the Lisan al Gaib which disrupts the Bene Gesserit plan, as Paul is not loyal to the Bene Gesserit.
WHO ARE THE ATREIDES?
The Dune universe is made up of many planets ruled by different factions called Houses. House Atreides is a house of particular importance and the long-standing rival to the dastardly House Harkonnen. As one of the Great Houses of the Imperium, they are part of a group called the Landsraad, made up of members from all the other houses and ruling families. The Landsraad’s collective power intended to act as a check against the Imperium’s ruler, the Emperor (Christopher Walken).
In Dune (2021) we get to see the Atreides on their home planet, Caladan, before the Emperor assigns them to take control of Arrakis. Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) is the leader of House Atreides and is the father to Paul (Timothée Chalamet). Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is an honored figure in House Atreids and the mother of Paul. In Dune (2021) Duke Leto expresses regret at never having officially married Lady Jessica. Although Lady Jessica is Leto’s romantic partner, they were never married as a political strategy. The Great Houses value the power and influence that House Atreides possess, Duke Leto’s unmarried status lets the Great Houses believe a political alliance through marriage is still possible. Later, Jessica advises Paul to seek out a marriage in order to gain political power in the Imperium.
As the son of the Duke, Paul is mentored and trained by many of Leto’s top advisors such as Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin). Gurney is a close friend and advisor to Paul, we see him training Paul in sword combat in Dune (2021). In addition to his skills as the War Master of House Atreides, Gurney is a master at playing the Baliset, a stringed musical instrument.
Another important character is House Atreides’ Master of Assassins, Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Hawat has incredible cognitive and analytical ability and is one of Paul’s mentors in addition to being responsible for security for House Atreides. Hawat is a Mentat, Mentats are educated and trained to mimic computers, essentially acting as the Atreides living computer.
THE FILMMAKERS BEHIND DUNE
Dune Part One and Part Two are directed by the acclaimed, Denis Villeneuve. Denis reunited with his Oscar-winning team from the first movie to continue the Dune story. Dune (2021) was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning 6! Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer returns to score the newest Dune film after his highly celebrated score from the first film.
As a huge fan of the book, Hans Zimmer was thrilled to score the film adaptation of Dune, saying working on the film made him feel like a kid again. In an interview with Billboard, Zimmer describes his thought process with the score, “Rather than approaching it with the wisdom and maturity that come with age, none of that happened,” says Zimmer. “The book took us back in time. The score is very much written with the recklessness and fearlessness that you have as a teenager.” Unlike other films that take place in the future that use an orchestral score, Zimmer wanted the music to feel otherworldly, as if it were music from the future! Read More Here
Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as the lead role, who was Villeneuve’s first choice to play Paul Atreides. As the son of Duke Leto, Paul needed to have aristocratic facial features according to Villeneuve. “You feel a strong intelligence in the eyes. And he looks very young onscreen, and I needed that youth, that candor, that vulnerability—that young man who was struggling with his identity, trying to find a spot.” Villeneuve says in an interview with Time in an article by Stephanie Zacharek. Read More Here
Villeneuve co-wrote the screenplay based on Frank Herbert’s novel with writer Jon Spaihts and worked alongside other creative collaborators such as Oscar-winning director of photography Greig Fraser; Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette; Oscar-winning editor Joe Walker; Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West. After working on Dune Part Two for years together, the crew’s film is finally reaching audiences on the big screen at Megaplex Theatres on March 1st, 2024.
