The official trailer for the highly anticipated Dune has been released recently, giving us more details about the upcoming film. The last time we visited this turbulent universe onscreen was in 2003 with the Children of Dune television miniseries. The rich visuals of the trailer promises a more vibrant colorful world, in contrast with the bleaker atmosphere of the first Dune movie, which was released in 1984. This first title in another great saga follows the story of Paul Atredes. His father Duke Leto Atreides was given governorship of the strange desert planet of Arrakis, nicknamed “Dune.” From the trailer, it appears that the movie will follow the original novel very closely. The good Atreides will be fighting against the evil Harkonnen with the help of the native Fremen. Interwoven with the main conflict, we also see the rise of another chosen one and his developing powers. This author is excited to see the appearances of many favorite characters from the book. Without spoiling too much, let’s take a closer look at what we can glean from this extended preview of the upcoming movie.

Chani

“My planet Arrakis is so beautiful when the sun is low.” - Chani

The trailer opens with this beautiful dark haired woman with stunning glowing blue eyes introducing the desert world of Arrakis to viewers. It is only fitting as she is the one who introduces our protagonist Paul to this unfamiliar planet. We can see that she will be more than just a love interest to the protagonist, and more than just a literal figure from his dreams. She is shown standing next to Paul in his fight against the attacking Harkonnens, and may become a larger figure in the overall story of Dune.

The Sandworms Of Dune

The vast deserts of Arrakis are beautiful. Lurking beneath the seemingly peaceful landscape are the highly aggressive sandworms, who played an important part in creating the main commodity of the planet, spice melange. While the image of a cloaked figure holding strange hooks in their hands might not mean much to those new to the Dune saga, it promises an exciting scene of the Fremen riding the gargantuan sandworms.

The Atreides

We already know that Oscar Isaac will be playing the role of Duke Leto Atreides, and that Jason Mamoa will be portraying the Swordmaster Duncan Idaho. The trailer also reveals the others of Duke Leto’s right-hand men, Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley). Rounding out the Atreides household is the Suk doctor Wellington Yueh. His part in the story may be a mystery to some, but he appears to be more than just a physician for the family.

The Harkonnen

In addition to a glimpse of our main villain Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (played by Stellan Skarsgard) suspended above his throne, we also see the appearance of the main architect behind Baron Harkonnen’s schemes, the twisted Piter de Vries (David Dastmalchian). Is that red sapho juice stain I spy on his lips?

Close Quarters Combat

Despite the massive explosions and large armies battling each other, the trailer also shows a few seconds of close quarters combat between two shimmering figures. I am very excited to see that we can now do justice in portraying the Dune technology of the Holtzman shield. There would be no comical blocks like in the 1984 version of Dune. The Holtzman shield is an energy field used to provide protection to a person from melee weapons. The shield deflects everything. Only an object traveling at a particular speed will be able to penetrate the protective field. So in a bladed fight, the attacker would have to move the weapon at a particular speed to land blows on their target. To those who have already read the book or seen the original Dune movie, this brief glance at shielded combat also hints at the appearance of another important figure in the movie who has yet to be revealed.

Massive Explosions

Mushroom clouds might not mean much for us. After all, this is a futuristic world, why wouldn’t Dune have nuclear explosions? However, in this universe, the use of nuclear weapons like the atomics is highly prohibited. Any offensive use of atomics is grounds for retaliation with total planetary annihilation. Thus, there is a huge implication of the atomics being used in an already highly charged conflict between the Atreides and the Harkonnen.

Paul’s Powers

“The Duke’s son. He sees too much.” - Wellington Yueh

In the trailer, Paul talks about seeing a certain woman in his dreams. Is this the full extent of his power? What are these shimmering threads we see in front of him? Could this speak to another ability that may be explored further whether in this film or in its sequel?

Dune is slated for release on October 22, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max. I cannot wait to see one of her all-time favorite books come alive on screen. Perhaps we should do yet another reread of the novel.

Source(s): Screen Rant

Secrets And Reveals From 'Dune' Official Trailer