“Dune, Part Two” is released in theaters this Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Before diving back into the adventures of Paul Atréides, a quick recap of what happened in the first part.
This is the cinema release not to be missed this week: Dune, part two, sequel to the blockbuster released in 2021, finally arrives on our cinema screens this Wednesday, February 28. Still directed by Denis Villeneuve, this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic novel picks up exactly where the first part left us, to continue the exploration of the rise of Paul Atréides who joins the Fremen. But do you remember the events of the first episode well? We offer you a summary of both the plot, but also the key vocabulary, in order to see this second episode of Dune in complete serenity at the cinema.
Dune is the adaptation of a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert which recounts the power struggle of several families of a fictional galactic empire for control of a desert planet, Arrakis. This is particularly coveted because it is the only place in the universe where we find the Spice, an expensive substance which confers numerous powers: the extension of life and the strengthening of a person’s immune defenses. on the one hand, the awakening of consciousness and the development of the faculties of vision of the future essential to interstellar navigation on the other hand.
A war for control of Arrakis
Arrakis is therefore particularly coveted by the Emperor and the great families of the Imperium. Among them, we find House Atreides which is entrusted with the stronghold of Arrakis to exploit the Spice. This is not viewed favorably by the Harkonnen family, who have enriched themselves for 80 years thanks to the exploitation of the substance of Arrakis. In reality, the Emperor hopes to get rid of the Atreides with the help of the Harkonnen, whose growing influence threatens his reign.
Duke Leto Atréides (Oscar Isaac) then takes his concubine, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a member of the Bene Gesserit religious order, and his son, Paul Atréides (Timothée Chalamet) and the rest of his army to Arrakis. But Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgaard) does not intend to give in and orders several actions to destroy the Atreides.
With the help of a traitor, Doctor Wellington Yueh, the Harkonnen army infiltrates the Atreides stronghold and kills Duke Leto. Captured at first, Paul and Jessica however manage to escape and pass themselves off as dead. Lost in the desert, they are however saved by the Fremen, the indigenous people of Arrakis, and in particular by their leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Chani (Zendaya).
At the same time, Paul’s faculties develop through contact with the Spice: the young man has visions of the future, which notably sees him taming a sandworm (a gigantic creature from Arrakis) and setting up an army to regain control of the planet. The question then arises: is he the Kwisatz Haderach, a supreme being created by a thousand-year-old genetic program by the order of the Bene Gesserit, who would have power over the universe by having the ability to access the past and the future? ? Answer in Dune, part two.