Summary

  • Director Denis Villeneuve believes that Dune: Part Two is better than Part One because he was able to dig deeper and more intensely into the characters and their relationships.
  • The director says there's "something more alive" in the sequel that wasn't present in the first Dune.
  • The sequel is shaping up to have more action and be more about the romance of Paul and Chani, not to mention the expansion of the world due to new characters and locations.

Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve reveals why the sequel marks an improvement over the 2021 movie. Serving as an adaptation of Frank Herbert's beloved novel series, Villeneuve's first crack at the franchise was a hit critically and commercially. The film, which introduces Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, directly sets up a sequel, which was originally supposed to release in November before being delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Now, as Dune: Part Two's new release date approaches, Villeneuve explains at a recent press conference for the film in South Korea (via TongTongCulture) how the sequel improves on aspects of the original.

Without revealing too much of what's to come, the director teases that the sequel is able to explore the characters in a way that he couldn't before. Check out Villeneuve's full comment below:

“For me, this film is much better than ‘Part One.’ There’s something more alive in it. There’s a relationship to the characters. I was trying to reach for an intensity and a quality of emotions that I didn’t reach with ‘Part One’ and that I did reach with ‘Part Two.’ I’m not saying the film is perfect, but I’m much more happy with ‘Part Two’ than I was with ‘Part One.’ I cannot wait to share it with the fans and the moviegoers.”

Dune 2 Could Be Quite Different From The 2021 Movie

Paul (Timothée Chalamet) holds sandworm spikes in Dune 2's trailer.

Dune's epic ending is, itself, a fairly strong indication that the continuation of the story will be taking on a different tenor. After House Atreides is decimated in an attack, Paul flees with his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) to the Fremen. After finally meeting Chani (Zendaya), the girl from his dreams, and killing an opponent to secure his future, the film ends with Paul and Lady Jessica heading off into the desert with the Fremen.

Already, trailers have teased that, unlike the previous movie, Chani will play a much larger role in the story this time around. As in the books, the sequel will explore Paul and Chani's burgeoning romantic relationship. In addition to a prominent romantic subplot, Paul is also poised to take on more of a leadership role with the Fremen, with the first trailer revealing that riding his first sandworm will serve as something of an initiation.

In an interview with Empire earlier this year, Villeneuve described Dune: Part Two as an emotional "love story" between Paul and Chani.

In addition to teasing that new locations and an expansion of the world is on the way, trailers have also teased that a new villain is coming. Dune: Part Two's cast introduces Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, who, unlike Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen, will seemingly serve as a rabid antagonist who likes to get his hands dirty. All of this is in addition to the fact that Villeneuve has already affirmed that Dune: Part Two will be upping the action significantly from the first installment.

Source: TongTongCulture/ YouTube