EntertainmentMoviesSci-Fi MoviesDune 2Dune 2 director Denis Villeneuve says a Zendaya scene was the moment he knew the film was working: “I did that shot and knew I had a movie"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesSci-Fi MoviesDune 2Dune 2 director Denis Villeneuve says a Zendaya scene was the moment he knew the film was working: “I did that shot and knew I had a movie"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
The following features spoilers for the end of Dune: Part Two… you have been warned!
Every single minute of sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two is a spectacle, but the very final scene is easily one of the highlights. Instead of ending with Timothée Chalamet’s lead Paul Atreides, we follow Zendaya’s Chani into the desert as she begins a new journey.
Standing alone in the dunes, the camera lingers on Chani’s face, with Zendaya laying bare all of her rebel warrior’s pain and heartbreak. It is absolutely devastating, reminding audiences that Paul fulfilling his prophecy isn’t a triumph – it’s a sign that only danger lies ahead.
It’s a shattering note to end on and one that lingers long in the memory. And as Villeneuve himself tells GamesRadar+,catching up on Zoomafter Dune: Part Two topped ourbest movies of 2024list, it’s one of his favorite scenes from the movie too. In fact, it was with this moment that he realized the film was a success: “It’s one of my favorite shots. I did that shot and knew I had a movie.”
But why end with Chani instead of the film’s lead character? For Villeneuve, this risky move was a crucial one to take in order to honor author Frank Herbert’s original intentions of making Dune a “cautionary tale”.
Villeneuve continues, explaining that the key to unlocking this idea from Herbert was to create an expanded role for Chani: “We had this idea of transforming Chani. In the book she’s in the shadow of Paul, but we wanted to give Chani here her own agenda, her own beliefs, her own tale. She has different views of the world from Paul.
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“So, the movie was structured around their relationship, then at the start of the third act we embrace Chani’s perspective more. And from her perspective we can see where Paul deviates from his path, becoming something he was afraid to become. She becomes our moral compass. It was therefore very important to finish the movie on Chani as that’s our angle, our take.”
Dune: Part Two is available to stream now on Max in the US and Sky/Now in the UK. For more from our interview, here’sVilleneuve on his favorite movies of 2024.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”