How to stream Dune: Part Two in the UK
Prepare to return to the spice world of Arrakis
“This is only the beginning.” So ended Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One, a thrilling and engrossing adaptation of at least half of Frank Herbert’s seminal 1965 sci-fi opus.
For those unfamiliar, it’s quite a cliffhanger to leave audiences on, but Dune: Part Two gives us the rest of the story that started it all.
The second film wasn’t filmed back-to-back with the original, which led to some concern about whether or not the planned two-part adaptation would be completed, but Warner Bros greenlit the sequel shortly after the release of Part One in October 2021. With a $400-million global box-office total and six Oscars to its name, Villeneuve’s film did a bit better than David Lynch’s 1984 cult-classic take.
Read more: The many failed attempts to adapt Dune
As the sequel arrives on digital download, here’s everything you need to know about Dune: Part Two. Be warned: this article contains spoilers for Part One...
How can I stream Dune: Part Two?
Dune: Part Two is now available to buy or rent from digital retailers such as Prime Video, Sky Store and Apple TV+, and will land on US streaming service Max on 21 May.
The film originally arrived in UK cinemas and IMAX on 1 March, having been delayed by four months due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. It has been a huge hit at the global box office, grossing more than $683m — making it the highest-earning blockbuster of 2024 so far.
Villeneuve’s sequel has an epic runtime of two hours and 45 minutes — a whole 10 minutes longer than Part One.
Filming took place in Hungary, Jordan, Italy and the UAE between July and December 2022.
What are the reviews like?
Our return trip to Arrakis has finally arrived — and according to critics, it’s been worth the wait. With the second chapter of author Frank Herbert’s epic war tale, director Denis Villeneuve has upped the ante on an already considerably ante-d-up first part.
Our own write-up set the tone, explaining that Villeneuve’s sequel has proven how the old saying that Herbert’s sci-fi epic was impossible to film may not be as true as we once thought. The review went on to call Dune 2 a “masterful piece of work, and it is a strong contender to be named Villeneuve’s greatest gift to cinema.”
The Independent called it “a work of total sensory and imaginative immersion,” while The Guardian also labelled on the praise, saying the movie was an “epic sci-fi hallucination whose images speak of fascism and imperialism, of guerrilla resistance and romance.”
Not to be left out, The Telegraph also had a good time, writing in their review that “the technology here is magic: something to be felt in your soul, not puzzled out in your head.”
Read more Dune 2 reviews below.
Yahoo Movies UK: Timothée Chalamet shines in masterful sci-fi epic (4-min read)
The Independent: Audacious, intimate, and menacing like no other blockbuster in existence (5-min read)
The Guardian: Second half of hallucinatory sci-fi epic is staggering spectacle (4-min read)
The Telegraph: When was the last time a $190m blockbuster was this stately and sinister? (3-min read)
Is there a trailer for Dune: Part Two?
A new trailer for the film was released in December 2023, which showed more of the drama that is in store for Paul and the people of Arrakis. Take a look below.
Released in June 2023, the film’s second trailer gave us our first look at Christopher Walken’s Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino, while showing us a bald Austin Butler in action. Take a look below.
The first trailer for Dune: Part Two, first shown at CinemaCon 2023, reveals Paul riding a massive sandworm, features a voiceover from Florence Pugh’s Princess Corino, and gives us our first look at Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha in action.
Who is in the Dune: Part Two cast?
Most of the surviving characters from Part One are back in Part Two, starting with Timothée Chalamet as Duke Paul Atreides. “In the first movie Paul Atredis is a student…we really see Paul Atreides become a leader here,” Chalamet said at CinemaCon.
Rebecca Ferguson is also back as his mother, Lady Jessica, but this time she is covered with ‘face tattoos’. Meanwhile, Stellan Skarsgård returns as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and Dave Bautista reprises his role as Glossu Rabban, his nephew and lieutenant.
Zendaya had a briefer-than-expected role in Part One as Chani, the Fremen woman who appears in Paul’s visions and then turns up in the desert at the finale, but she’s back too, with a much meatier role this time around.
“She’s not just in dreams this time,” Zendaya said at CinemaCon. “I only got a small time to find out who she was [in Part One]… These are still two young people who are trying to grow up, fall in love and leave, being a warrior for your people.”
Javier Bardem is back as Fremen leader Stilgar. Also returning in Part Two are Josh Brolin, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Charlotte Rampling.
The second half of Villeneuve’s adaptation also introduces a host of new characters, led by Elvis star Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha, Baron Harkonnen’s other nephew and his chosen heir.
This is the character unforgettably played by Sting in David Lynch’s version, and he becomes a big antagonist to Paul at this point in the story.
“It was a privilege for me to bring Austin on board to ask him to play some kind of Olympic sword master, mixed with a psychotic serial killer,” Villeneuve said. “And I’m very proud of what he brought to the movie.”
Higher up in the chain of command, we also meet Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, the Emperor’s daughter, and Léa Seydoux as Lady Margot, another member of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood like Lady Jessica.
As for the Emperor himself, Shaddam IV of House Corrino finally shows his face, and is played by none other than Christopher Walken.
Behind the scenes, Part One writer Jon Spaihts is back on scripting duties. Many of the Oscar-winning crew are returning too, including cinematographer Greig Fraser, editor Joe Walker, production designer Patrice Vermette, costume designer Jacqueline West, and of course, composer Hans Zimmer.
Bring on the “anti-groove”!
*Warning: Dune Part Two cast spoilers below*
Following the movie’s European premiere in February 2024, a surprise cast member was revealed – with Dune: Part Two also boasting a performance from Anya Taylor-Joy. Without getting into any spoilers details, she plays a major character who is key to the franchise.
What is the plot of Dune: Part Two?
In the absence of a “previously on Dune” section, the second picks up where the first left off, with House Atreides in ruins and Paul and Jessica on the run in the deserts of planet Arrakis with the native Fremen tribe.
You may also remember that Paul is plagued throughout Part One by visions of a holy war waged across the universe in his name. In one of those two prophecies we mentioned, the Fremen believe he is the Lisan al-Gaib, (“the Voice from Another World”) the prophet who will lead them to paradise.
Read more: Why Denis Villeneuve didn't shoot Dune sequels back-to-back
Meanwhile, his mother believes he is the Bene Gesserit’s messiah, the Kwisatz Haderach, born a generation early. As you might guess, this complicates matters.
And so, Part Two sees Paul try to avert an all-consuming civil war, while also getting to grips with his new powers and seeking revenge on the Harkonnens for destroying his family. In turn, the Harkonnens need to kill Paul and his mother to cover up the Emperor’s role in the Atreides’ downfall, which later brings Feyd-Rautha and Irulan into the picture.
Oh, and Dune: Part Two is far from the end of the story. The Dune saga spans at least six novels by Herbert, published between 1965 and 1985, with various follow-ups by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
While this will wrap up the first novel, Villeneuve says he envisioned three Dune movies.
Following the success of Part Two, the director has already been confirmed to adapt the sequel, Dune Messiah. Warner Bros is also prepping a spin-off TV series, Dune: Prophency, for streaming service Max. Neither project has a confirmed release date just yet.
Dune: Part Two is available to buy or rent on digital now