The trailer for Dune: Part Two dropped and gave us our first looks at some of the characters we’re waiting to meet, but it also gave us plenty of moments with those we’d come to love from 2021’s Dune. Seeing Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica once more was fun, and we got more of Zendaya as Chani in the trailer. But we also spent a lot of time with our boy Paul.
Played by Timothée Chalamet, Paul Atreides went from the son of Duke Leto Atreides to someone who was learning the ways of the Fremen, the inhabitants of the film’s desert planet setting, by the time the credits rolled—which is where we left Paul ahead of Part Two. So, seeing in the trailer that he is dreaming of his first ride on a sandworm is exciting for fans to get to explore in Part Two of the franchise.
In the first film, there were characters we were rooting for, and loudly doing so—mainly Jason Momoa’s Duncan Idaho and his entire deal, but we were cheering for the film. What was so fascinating about Dune part one was how it brought new fans into the world that Frank Herbert created with the original novels and let us find the characters we wanted to love. And I do love that this trailer gave those fans who clung to Paul a chance to really root for him.
THE WORMS!
And yes, we were cheering as the trailer was gearing up to show it to us, but it also reminded me why I love Paul Atreides so much as a character. He did do the thing! That thing being took a ride on a sandworm, and it left me just so excited to head back into Denis Villeneuve’s world of Dune, because … well, it was really cool to watch it happen, and now I have to wait until NOVEMBER for more.
I’m someone who didn’t get into Dune as a novel prior to seeing the first film, but I was taken away by the monstrous sandworms and the consciousness-expanding “spice” and found myself fascinated by the story. I still have yet to read the novel, but now it’s because I’m invested in Denis Villeneuve’s take on the story and don’t want to be spoiled on it—because seeing as Stilgar (Javier Bardem) basically told Paul not to be dramatic, only for Paul to be very dramatic, is my favorite kind of thing.
After seeing part one, I was instantly invested—sure, because of the story and Oscar Isaac’s beard, but more importantly because Paul Atreides is so sad, truly and honestly sad, and I love that mixed in with the willingness that he has to just do what he wants despite what everyone is telling him to do—like Stilgar saying to just attempt to ride the worm without any flair and then Paul immediately ignoring him.
That’s the best kind of sad privileged boy character, in my humble opinion. So, getting to see Paul take his first ride in the trailer? Exciting.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
