The hype is now real! Dune took the cinema world by storm back in 2021 with its insane storytelling, VFX, and score. The film was one of the top contenders for Oscars 2022 and it will walked home with 6 of them, all in technical categories. With positive reviews and ratings from fans and critics alike, everyone was impatiently waiting for what’s next in store for Villeneuve’s fantasy epic. Well, the most anticipated film of the year 2023 and 2024, aka Dune 2 is all set to debut this weekend and there’s nothing but overwhelmingly positive verdict all around the globe. So, if you just can’t wait to know what happens next, this article is for you!
Dune 2 Full Plot Summary and Recap
As you may know, Dune 2 had its world premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on February 15, 2024. So, many lucky fans and critics have already seen it and have sang nothing but praises for it. Dune 2 currently stands at a 97% fresh RT score based off 154 reviews and an 80% rating on Metacritic based on 44 reviews with zero negative reviews. Because of it’s red carpet premiere, we now have the full plot summary of the film but beware that MASSIVE SPOILERS follow below!
The film begins as Princess Irulan Corrino secretly journals that Paul Atreides may still be alive, while her father, Emperor Shaddam IV, is dispirited after the fall of House Atreides. En route to Sietch Tabr on Arrakis, Stilgar’s Fremen troop, including Paul and Jessica, faces a Harkonnen ambush but successfully overcomes it. At the Sietch, suspicions arise about Jessica and Paul being spies. Some Fremen have faith in them, believing in the prophecy of a mother and son bringing prosperity to Arrakis.
Stilgar informs Jessica that their Reverend Mother is dying, coercing her into becoming a replacement by drinking the Water of Life, a deadly poison that is fatal to males and the untrained. She transmutes the poison and by doing so, survives and inherits the memories of every ancestor in her genetic lineage. Unbeknownst to anyone else except Paul, Jessica is pregnant with Paul’s sister; the Water of Life prematurely awakens her daughter’s mind before birth. Following this, Jessica begins to have conversations with her in the womb and believes that those in the north of Arrakis must be convinced first of the prophecy, starting with the weak-minded.
Chani and her friend Shishakli think the prophecy is false, but when Paul makes a speech about not seeking power and only wanting to fight alongside them, Chani develops respect for him. Paul embraces the Fremen ways and learns their language, passing tests like riding a sandworm. He forms a romantic relationship with Chani, becomes a Fedaykin fighter, and assists during raids on Harkonnen spice harvesters, earning the mantles “Muad’Dib” and “Usul” by which the Fremen identify him. Jessica nefariously guides his ascent against his own judgment, fueling the religion of which she has become a prominent figure. Rabban, whose grip on spice production has been loosening, intensifies raids on the Fremen to please the Baron, who returns to his homeworld of Giedi Prime.
There, the Baron’s other nephew, Feyd-Rautha, fights in gladiator tournaments for sport. Margot Fenring, a Bene Gesserit acolyte sent by the Reverend Mother Mohiam, seduces Feyd to secure his genes should Paul’s bloodline be unsalvageable. Jessica completes her religious quest in the north, and travels south to unite with the fundamentalists there. Paul is angered by her actions and fears the holy war which he foresees will ignite if he proceeds south as a messiah; he remains in the north to continue fighting the Harkonnens. Jessica learns that the poisonous Water of Life is a liquid excreted by an adolescent sandworm once it is drowned.
The Baron demotes Rabban for failing to stop the Fremen revolts, making Feyd-Rautha ruler of Arrakis. Paul reunites with Gurney Halleck, who joined the smugglers after the Atreides’ downfall. Seeing that Paul is preparing for a war, Gurney leads him to House Atreides’ hidden atomic warheads. Feyd’s troops attack Sietch Tabr, killing Shishakli and forcing the survivors, including Paul, to journey south. Against Chani’s wishes, Paul drinks the Water of Life; he doesn’t die, but instead awakens with a clearer sense of the past and future, seeing a future vision of his sister Alia and realizing the Baron is his maternal grandfather.
Fremen leaders in the south hope for Paul to challenge Stilgar for leadership, but Paul denounces this. Finally accepting his messianic destiny, he declares himself the Lisan al-Gaib and refuses to remove by force a great fighter such as Stilgar. He assumes full power over the Fremen and challenges the Emperor, who arrives on Arrakis with Irulan, Mohiam, and his Sardaukar troops. Paul interrupts the Emperor’s confrontation with the Baron by launching the atomic warheads at Arrakeen’s stronghold fortress. Riding sandworms, the Fremen overpower Sardaukar forces and breach Arrakeen’s defenses; Gurney slays a fleeing Rabban.
Paul enters the throne room, kills the Baron, and orders the Emperor and others to be transported to the Residency. There, he threatens to destroy the spice forever unless the Emperor surrenders. Feyd-Rautha instead challenges him to a duel with the Emperor’s blade in hand and loses. Left with no other choice, Shaddam surrenders the Imperial throne, and Paul takes Irulan as his wife. Angered by his decision, Chani leaves with tears in her eyes, preparing to mount a sandworm elsewhere. Above Arrakeen, ships containing many Great Houses refuse to accept Paul’s ascendancy, prompting him to order his Fremen army to “send them to paradise.” Jessica and her unborn daughter reflect that this is the beginning of Muad’Dib’s holy war. That’s where the film ends.
Dune 2 all is set to be released in the United States and worldwide on March 1, 2024!
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