By Krish Lukha

In just under one week (from the time of writing), Dune: Part II will be released in cinemas. This epic sci-fi adventure, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a sequel to Dune (2021). Both books are based upon the first book in Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi political series. Ever since the first novel was released, there have been few cinematic adaptations, with even fewer successes. David Lynch’s film in 1984 has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 37% and an IMDb rating of 6.3/10, whilst Children of Dune is a series which has been widely forgotten. These have led to Dune being known as an “unadaptable” franchise. However, Villeneuve achieves the impossible, with Dune Part II currently holding an impressive Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 98%, making it the highest rated adaptation to date! This title was previously held by Villeneuve’s Dune (Part One), which was released 3 years prior.

Spoilers for Dune (2021) follow

In the year 10,191, the universe is ruled by a multitude of different noble houses and factions. There are 3 major houses involved in the first film; Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino. House Corrino supposedly controls the entire universe, with the Padishah Emperor as their ruler. Houses Harkonnen and Atreides are mortal enemies. The former, led by the villainous Baron Vladmir Harkonnen, controls the desert planet Arrakis and as such, became obscenely rich. Arrakis is a world full of danger, and the native people (Fremen) find themselves at constant war with the Harkonnens. It is also home to extremely large sandworms, capable of destroying entire civilisations. On Arrakis lies the most valuable substance in the universe; Melange, also known as spice. Spice allows for interstellar travel, fuel, psychic visions, the preservation of life and more.

The Bene Gesserit are an ancient guild of witches who secretly manipulate and steer the politics of the Imperium from the shadows. Their ultimate aim is to create a male lifeform known as the Kwisatz Haderach, a powerful creation capable of controlling time and space. Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Paul’s mother, is a member of this cultist organisation and, against the orders from her superiors, tried to produce this Kwisatz Haderach in the form of her son. However, it is unclear as to whether Paul will ever unlock his true potential.

Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is the heir to House Atreides, and is the son of the Duke. As the son of a Bene Gesserit and the predicted Kwisatz Haderach, he finds himself constantly plagued by visions of a mysterious Fremen girl (Zendaya). He is also undergoing psychic training so as to control his abilities. At this point, the Emperor’s Herald arrives. In a desperate ploy to keep control of his empire, the Padishah Emperor orders that House Atriedes becomes the new steward of Arrakis, in order to heighten tensions between his two enemies. Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) accepts, causing the entirety of his House to move to Arrakis.

Of course, Leto is aware that he has been set up to fail and orders Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), one of his two most loyal advisers, to head to Arrakis early. He gives him a task to find the Fremen, in order to make an alliance with them, so as to further strengthen his power.

During the night, Paul is awoken by his mother and ordered solemnly to get dressed. She takes him to meet the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim, the Truthsayer to the Emperor himself and Jessica’s mentor. One of the Bene Gesserit powers is known as The Voice; this ability is the equivalent of mind control, and Paul has been practising it with his mother. However, he is stunned to find that the Reverend Mother rather forcefully uses it on him. He questions her authority, and in return is instructed to place his hand in a box. At this point the Reverend Mother holds a poison needle, known as the Gom Jabbar, to his neck. He inherits too much power, and is revealed to have more than one birthright. Mohaim says that he cannot be allowed to live if he removes his hand from the box, which contains pure pain, before she instructs him too. He ultimately passes her test and proceeds to tell her about his visions, before exiting the room in a silent fury.

After a few weeks, he too heads to Arrakis with his family and the rest of the house. There he is met by Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and Liet Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), who are a Fremen leader and the Emperor’s Fremen Judge of the Change. Whilst Stilgar abruptly leaves after merely greeting the Duke, Dr Kynes stays in order to report back the the Emperor with information. After a close encounter with a sandworm and equipment which has been left in an extremely poor condition, Kynes very slowly starts to believe that Leto has been unjustly treated, and eventually starts to switch sides. During this encounter, Paul comes into contact with vast amounts of spice. These cause him to see more visions, in which he sees a holy war spreading across the universe in his name and, once again, the same girl from the desert.

Soon after, Dr Yueh (Chang Chen), one of the Duke’s most trusted medical professionals, betrays House Atreides in order to take back his wife from the Harkonnens and kill the Baron. He replaces one of Leto’s teeth with a poison capsule and lets his brutal enemies into Arrakeen (the capital of Arrakis), led by Rabban (Dave Bautista) who is the one of the Baron’s nephews. Rabban also has the might of the Sardukar, the Emperor’s prized assassins, on his side. This is because the Emperor wishes to eliminate House Atreides first. This coup leads to Jessica and Paul being kidnapped; Leto being imprisoned on Giedi Prime (the home-world of House Harkonnen); and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), the leader of Leto’s army, having to fend of the invaders.

Upon confronting his mortal enemy, Leto taunts the Baron into coming closer and crushes the poison capsule, releasing a deadly toxin which kills himself and almost kills the Baron. Meanwhile, Paul and Jessica manage to escape the Harkonnen clutches using their psychic powers. However, they unintentionally strand themselves in the desert. Eventually, they find Kynes and Idaho, who lead them to a safer place. After discussing plans as to what to do next, they find themselves ambushed by the Sardukar. Idaho sacrifices himself first, followed by Kynes, and allows the Lady and new Duke of Arrakis to flee further into the expansive desert, where they find Stilgar.

Jessica and Paul stumble upon Stilgar and his crew near dawn. The leader decides to kill Jessica and save Paul, but is ultimately defeated by the Bene Gesserit witch, causing Jamis (a fellow Fremen) to become enraged. He wants both Paul and Jessica to be killed at once and challenges Paul to a duel. However, Paul is preoccupied at this point. At long last, he has found the person from his recurring visions of war, also known as Chani (Zendaya). She hands him a crysknife (a sacred Fremen weapon) and tells him that she wishes for him to die with honour. Paul, having never killed a man before, repeatedly orders Jamis to yield. However, this is not a Fremen custom and as such, he is wounded in the process whilst fighting. He then remembers what the visions have told him; Paul Atreides must die for the Kwisatz Haderach to rise. Mustering his strength, he continues to fight and ultimately strikes the finishing blow, kickstarting his transformation into the prophesized ruler. After being congratulated by Stilgar, Chani and the other Fremen, he and Jessica head off to Sietch Tabr, the home of the Fremen. Just as the visions proclaimed, Paul’s road to power, revenge and tragedy leads into the desert.

Spoilers for Dune: Part II follow

The next installment of the trilogy will focus on Paul’s rise to power, as well as introducing major new characters. These include his son, Princess Irulan (heir to the Imperium, Played by Florence Pugh), Alia (his sister) and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (the brutal brother of Rabban, played by Austin Butler). He will rise up against his enemies with the full might of the Fremen and forever change the hierarchy of power within the universe.

Dune Part II releases exclusively in cinemas on March 1st, and currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%.