2024 is here, and people are eagerly awaiting the release date for Dune: Part Two. It's understandable, considering the immense hype surrounding it and the stars in Dune 2's cast list, and there's now an added thrill to attending, thanks to some incredibly suggestive limited-edition popcorn buckets. Many have noticed the upcoming promotional item strongly resembles a sex toy, and the tweets about that are absolutely wild.
Readers might be wondering right now, "How sexually suggestive could a popcorn bucket be to cause such a ruckus?" Well, I'll let the picture below speak for itself, which sent the internet spiraling into a competition for the most humorous tweet after seeing the popcorn bucket with a Sandworm covering the opening:
I kid you not… these are the #Dune2 popcorn buckets 😳💀 pic.twitter.com/hfDrBHJnbwJanuary 25, 2024
For those who are speechless, don't worry. X had plenty to say on the matter, and users like @KAY3_2SO did not hold back in the slightest in saying exactly what they felt the popcorn bucket really looked like, likening it to a popular sex toy:
You say popcorn bucket, I say fleshlight… tom-ay-to - tom-ah-to. #Dune #Dune2 #cinema
The reactions to the Dune 2 popcorn bucket are as praiseworthy as the first ten minutes of the movie, though for entirely different reasons. It's generated a lot of interest, which has even encouraged some theater chains to speak out after inquiries about whether they'll have it on release day:
No, we will not have the cursed DUNE popcorn bucket.January 26, 2024
Perhaps the biggest surprise in all of this is that this popcorn bucket ever made it past the pitching stage and into production. So many people on the internet immediately likened it to a sex toy, and we're to believe not one person saw the same thing while green-lighting it? @Bamalam said it best:
This should be considered a marketing war crime.
Perhaps the marketing team knew exactly what it was doing because the amount of jokes from wordplay alone has really given Dune 2 peak relevance on social media. Like, @arrjayteatoo is one of hundreds to make this joke on X, and it wouldn't be possible in a world where this was released with the original film:
Dune 2? the only thing I care about is what I’m gonna be Dune 2 that popcorn bucket.
It's all about perspective. In the grand scheme of things, maybe the Dune 2 team would instead people talk about a sexually suggestive popcorn bucket instead of the reportedly long AF runtime of the upcoming movie. Then again, maybe that's just wishful thinking on my end, as all the jokes are leading to some legitimate worry someone may try to engage in a sexual act with the popcorn bucket mid-movie:
Me at the theater for Dune 2 pretending like i can't see the guy seated beside me violating a sand worm pic.twitter.com/bBMiGd7U5NJanuary 26, 2024
If I thought there was even a chance of that happening, I'd be sitting at home and waiting for the day I can stream this with a Max subscription. The last thing I want is to experience something like this and lose my enthusiasm for Dune 3 after Denis Villeneuve hyped me up for it. With that said, I encourage all prospective moviegoers to spend the remaining months thinking about how insane Austin Butler looks in this movie and less about sexually suggestive popcorn buckets.
Dune 2 will premiere on Friday, March 1st. This is expected to be a big movie, so be sure to keep a lookout for chances to purchase tickets in advance, especially for those who want to hit up IMAX and see it on the biggest screen imaginable.
