Dune: Part Two: Cast, plot and trailer as release is delayed amid strikes

“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 later in 2023, Dune: Part Two gives us the rest of the story that started it all, and now we've had our first look at it thanks to the first trailer.

Like Andy Muschietti’s IT movies, 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: Dune wins big at the Baftas

There’s not long left to wait now though, and while book readers will already know what’s in store, Dune: Part Two will hold some surprises for those who haven’t gone back and peeked at the rest of the story.

With spoilers for Part One, here’s what we know about Villeneuve’s sequel so far…

Dune: Part Two release date

Unlike the first film, which had a simultaneous release in cinemas and on HBO Max in the US and other territories, Dune: Part Two will be released exclusively in cinemas worldwide.

The film was originally set to be released on 3 November, 2023, however it has now been announced that it has been delayed to March 15, 2024 amid the writer's and actor's strikes.

Filming took place between July and December 2022, and the first trailer was shown at CinemaCon 2023 to a handful of press and theatrical distributors.

“Part Two is an epic war movie, much more dense,” Villeneuve told the audience. “We visited Arrakis. We visit new locations; everything is new in the film. In the first movie, we shot 40% in IMAX — this time it’s full IMAX.”

Dune: Part Two trailer

With its release date closing in faster than a rogue sandworm, fans are getting more and more sneak peeks at what they can expect from Dune's continuation.

Released in late June, 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, 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.

Read more: Dune: Part Two debuts trailer selling it as an “epic war movie” at CinemaCon (The Hollywood Reporter, 3 min read)

In early May, the rest of the world finally got a glimpse of this sand-set sequel when the first Dune: Part Two trailer was released online, and shown in front of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in cinemas.

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.

Read more: The many failed attempts to adapt Dune

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 will also introduce 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”!

Dune: Part Two plot

In the absence of a “previously on Dune” section, the second will pick 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 will see 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. If Part Two does well at the box office, he also hopes to adapt the sequel, Dune Messiah, handing the franchise off to other filmmakers. Warner Bros is also prepping a spin-off TV series, Dune: The Sisterhood, for HBO Max.

The future of the series after Part Two remains to be seen, but for now, there’s another extra-large serving of spice and sandworms coming up.

Dune: Part Two will hit cinemas and IMAX on 3 November, 2023.

Watch the trailer for the original below.