13 Dune Part Two scenes we all won't be forgetting in a hurry

Dune: Part Two follows the fugitive Duke Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his pregnant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) as they align with the Fremen on the planet Arrakis.

However, the dangerous threats of their enemies House Harkonnen and the Imperium mean they are never far from peril.

Dune: Part Two offers an even more grandiose and thrilling chapter in the franchise, but here are some key scenes we will not get out of our minds any time soon.

*Spoiler warning for Dune: Part Two*

13 Dune Part Two scenes we all won't be forgetting in a hurry

1. That brutal desert opening

Director Denis Villeneuve loves his visuals, in case you didn’t realise, and the orange-tinged desert hunt by Harkonnen troops of the Fremen following the title sequence is a perfect example. There is palpable tension in the air as Paul and Jessica – the fugitives that they are – hide behind rocks and ridges in the sand from the almost anti-human Harkonnens in their jet-black spacesuits. The image of these footsoldiers hovering up the cliffside particularly stands out. Still, it is the tense moment where Paul faces certain death and his surprise rescue by a particularly violent Jessica – complete with a manic look in Rebecca Ferguson's eyes – that completes the chilling atmosphere.

2. Lady Jessica drinks the Water of Life

This scene was a standout for actress Rebecca Ferguson but it is transformative for Lady Jessica and her unborn daughter, Alia. The choreography of Jessica writhing on the floor as the poisonous jet-blue Water of Life envelops her cells and her womb is a scene of pure menace, and the resulting change in one of the film's most textured characters brings about a darkness that remains unshaken. Hans Zimmer's otherworldly score has never been more frightening.

3. Paul Atreides rides a sandworm for the first time

Well-publicised through trailers and even released online before the film hit theatres, Paul's expert mounting and riding of a titanic 'grandfather' sandworm on his first try is an epic scene that utilises the very best of IMAX technology, special effects, and the sheer awe and relief on the faces of the likes of Zendaya as sceptical Chani and Javier Bardem's true-believer Stilgar, the latter of whom's reaction shot is already a meme going viral on social media.

4. Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen's birthday gladiator battle

One of the most excessively stylistic sequences in the film is on the Harkonnen homeward of Giedi Prime as the gluttonous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) puts on a gladiatorial display to humiliate House Atreides and celebrate his heir, na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler). Butler is at his sadistic yet oddly chivalric best as Feyd-Rautha here, as he realises a plot to leave him vulnerable by his twisted uncle. All the while, the Bene Gesserit watch with curiosity to see how the villain performs. Entirely appearing in a black-and-white palate verging on a photographic negative on a scale not widely seen in a blockbuster and complete with some nightmarish horned Harkonnen arena guards, this sequence is full of artistic vibrancy.

5. Lady Margot Fenring seduces Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen

Despite her short screen time, Léa Seydoux makes an alluring impact as the Bene Gesserit agent Lady Margot Fenring, who catches Feyd-Rautha walking in the dark chasmic corridors of his uncle's palace as the flashing lights of some oil-like fireworks illuminate the chamber periodically and she communicates with him on a psychic level. Leading Feyd-Rautha into her chamber and to the ethereal chants of Hans Zimmer's score, Margot begins to disrobe before using the voice in a subtly sinister way to lure him into an erotic bow beneath her bed but then to surprisingly produce the Box and Gom Jabbar needle now familiar to viewers from the first film and previous adaptations. Dune can do sexy, but of course, it does it in a twisted fashion.

6. Paul meets Alia Atreides

Alia Atreides is a character who underwent the most adaptational changes between the book and screen in Villeneuve's series – remaining a sentient foetus for most of the proceedings. However, once Paul drinks the Water of Life he has a vision of oceans on Arrakis and at a coastline he encounters his sister as a grown woman, portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Anya Taylor-Joy in a surprise but somehow perfect casting that also only adds to the allure of Alia without taking away her significance. This scene here feels like the biggest tease of what is to come in a third film should Denis Villeneuve get his wish to adapt the novel Dune Messiah, and we can't wait to see what lies in store.

7. Lady Jessica forces Chani to awaken Paul

Paul drinking the Water of Life left his life hanging in the balance and Chani was furious to see he had done exactly what his manipulative mother had told him. However, the prophecy (propaganda) spread by the Missionaria Protectiva of the Bene Gesserit here suggests that Desert Spring tears would revive the Lisan al Gaib from his slumber. 'Sihaya' is the Fremen would for Desert Spring and this is Chani's name in the Fremen religion, meaning her tears can revive Paul. This has an almost fairytale-like quality that might have come across as cheesy or contrived, but the added dimension of Jessica forcing Chani to participate with the terrifying use of the Bene Gesserit skill of the Voice just leaves one feeling uncomfortable and divided in loyalties.

8. Paul-Muad'Dib sees "a way through"

In a subtle but clever piece of filmmaking from director Denis Villeneuve, some simple hand choreography delivered by Timothée Chalamet helps to explain all we need to know about the challenges Paul can see through his newly empowered prescient abilities after drinking the Water of Life. However, against the various possible futures before him, Paul notices a narrow path in which they can all succeed with a brief edit of a shot of a blade meeting an unknown body. An honest conversation between Paul and his manipulative mother Jessica sees them finally on the same page, but at what cost and with dark revelations about her heritage. Yet, it is the shots of Paul's hands that linger the most.

9. Paul-Muad'Dib’s 'messianic' speech

In the highpoint of Timothée Chalamet's magnetic turn as anti-hero Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two, it is in his commanding speech to the Fremen as he completes a villainous transition into their proclaimed messiah that delivers charisma, gravity, and, ultimately, menace. Here, Zendaya's Chani is also clearly now the audience surrogate, her disquiet and sheer resentment are palpable on her heroine's face. "Who will our next oppressors be?" asked Chani in the first film's prologue, but here the fear it's the man she loves feels realised.

10. Emperor Shaddam IV humiliates Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

Christopher Walken has a rather muted turn in Dune: Part Two as Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV but the character's seismic arrival on Arrakis in his gleaming palatial starship makes an impression. However, one ominous scene occurs when the Harkonnens are received in the Emperor's throne room with Shaddam flanked by Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan in a gorgeous chainmail gown and Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (an icy Charlotte Rampling). As Walken slips into his more recognisable on-screen persona with bravado as he tears into the Baron, his Sardaukar breaks the Baron's suspensors and leaves him humiliated and cowering on the floor as Hans Zimmer's score bears down on the Baron as much as Pugh with her cold gaze. The enemies of Muad'Dib flounder as the inevitable defeat approaches.

11. The Fremen assault on the Imperium

Here lies the most IMAX-worthy moment of the entire film as the Fremen launch their three-pronged assault on the Emperor and House Harkonnen with Chani and the Fedyakin leading one side atop giant sandworms, Stilgar leads another contingent of the army, while Paul watches over another – but not until after atomic weapons were launched in a terrifying display of power from Paul that rocks his enemies literally and figuratively. Expansive, awe-inspiring, and seat-shakingly memorable.

12. Paul-Muad'Dib Atreides vs Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen

One of the most iconic scenes in Frank Herbert's novel and in David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Dune is the long-awaited meeting between Paul and his twisted mirror image Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Both "prospects" for the Bene Gesserit and now revealed to be kin as cousins, Paul and even Feyd display similar codes of honour and menace in this tense encounter that plays with tension and even some humour from Austin Butler's performance. Of course, it can only end one way and in a worthy death for a memorable one-film villain in Feyd.

13. Kiss the Ring

Perhaps the most emotive use of Hans Zimmer's score is set to dialogue in the scene where Shaddam kneels before the usurper Paul and agrees to give Irulan in marriage to him. Despite a profession of love to Chani beforehand, it serves as a gut-punch moment for heartbroken Chani with Zendaya portraying her heartache at losing Paul to marriage but also realising he has become everything she and he wanted to avoid – another oppressor of the Fremen, now in the guise of a freedom fighter. Jessica watches with a smug gaze and interacts via psychic conversation with her former tutor Reverend Mother Mohiam, who underlines with cynicism how there is little difference to the regime change – "there are no sides". As Jessica goes on to address the Holy War to come with unborn child Alia, we see Chani prepare to depart alone on a sandworm – ending the film on a pessimistic and tragic note. We will not forget the sadness permeating in these final moments any time soon.

Read more:

• Dune: Part Two ending explained – What happened to Paul and Chani?
• 10 Dune Part Two changes from Frank Herbert’s original novel
• Dune: Part Two review – A spectacular return to Arrakis
• Stellan Skarsgård says reading Dune was “useless” for his Baron Harkonnen portrayal
• Dune director on casting Austin Butler: ‘I needed a playboy – a rockstar’
• Dune: Part Two cast – Full list of actors and characters in sequel
• What is the age rating for Dune: Part Two? Age suitability explained
• How to watch Dune: Part One on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming
• How to read all the Dune books in order

Dune: Part Two is out now in cinemas. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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