Overview
It was true of the first Dune film from Denis Villeneuve. It's been accurate of the Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival filmmaker's sci-fi spectacles in general. And it definitely applies to Dune: Part Two. That fact: that these movies look best on the big screen. But if you haven't had time to visit the cinema since Villeneuve's second trip to Arrakis arrived in February 2024, or you're keen to see it again on your couch, this Timothée Chalamet (Wonka)- and Zendaya (Euphoria)-starring sequel has now hit digital.
Dune: Part Two is still showing in picture palaces. You just have options now when it comes to checking it out, such as streaming via YouTube Movies and Prime Video at home. Either way, you're in for oh-so-much sand, plus a continuation of Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) adapting Frank Herbert's work, following in David Lynch's footsteps and managing what Alejandro Jodorowsky sadly couldn't (see: excellent documentary Jodorowsky's Dune).
Villeneuve's debut Dune flick scored ten Oscar nominations and six wins (including an Academy Award for Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser); however, it only told part of Dune's story. So, Dune: Part Two keeps the tale going. War has arrived on the franchise's spice-laden planet, and Paul Atreides (Chalamet) and the Fremen are ready to fight. The former doesn't just want to face off against the folks who destroyed his family, but for the sandy celestial body, with Chani (Zendaya) at his side.
In the prior flick, Paul had to head to Arrakis because his dad Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight) had just been given stewardship of the planet and its abundance of 'the spice' — aka the most valuable substance in the universe — and then got caught up in a bitter feud with malicious forces over the substance. It also saw Paul meet the population of people known as the Fremen, including Chani, plus Javier Bardem's (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) Stilgar, which is who he and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, Silo) are with in Dune: Part Two.
Expansive desert landscape, golden and orange hues (again, Villeneuve helmed Blade Runner 2049), sandworms, the director's reliable eye for a spectacle and Hans Zimmer's (The Son) latest likely Oscar-winning score: they're all accounted for again. So are fellow returning actors Josh Brolin (Outer Range), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and Charlotte Rampling (Benedetta).
Among the new cast members, Austin Butler ditches his Elvis locks as Feyd Rautha Harkonnen, the nephew of Stellan Skarsgard's (Andor) Baron Harkonnen. Christopher Walken (Severance) and Florence Pugh (The Wonder) also join the saga as Emperor Shaddam IV and his daughter Princess Irulen — and Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future) is another newcomer.
More Dune is on the way after this, too, with a third film locked in, even if it doesn't yet have a release date.
Check out trailer for Dune: Part Two below:
Dune: Part Two is still screening in Australian cinemas, and is also available to stream via YouTube Movies and Prime Video. Read our review and our interview with cinematographer Greig Fraser.