5 Scenes We're Super Excited To See In Dune
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Thanks to world events, the blockbuster schedule in 2020 has been, to put it lightly, a bit wonky, but one massive film that remains firmly in place at the end of the year is Denis Villeneuve’s Dune – and we couldn’t be more excited. It promises to be an epic faithful to the brilliant Frank Herbert novel, and while what we’ve seen of the Dune movie has thus far been limited to a small set of stills, we are hyped for what the adaptation will deliver for fans of the classic sci-fi literature.
Keeping in mind that the 2020 film is only going to be adapting part of Frank Herbert’s first Dune book, and that we aren’t quite sure yet how much of the book it’s actually going to adapt, there are five scenes in particular that we are excited to see up on the silver screen. Things may get a bit spoiler-y for those of you who haven’t read the book, so be warned!
The First Sandworm Sighting
At the beginning of Dune, House Atreides is new to the planet Arrakis, having left the lush planet Caladan, and as a result they aren’t overly familiar with the dangers that their new home offers. The expansive desert is one thing, as water is an extremely precious resource, but few things inspire more dread than the giant sandworms, which tunnel under the ground and can sense movement above them. They ultimately have a massive role to play in the larger story, and we can’t wait for the scene where their majesty and horror is fully presented for the first time.
In the book, we are first introduced to the sandworms as Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) go on a tour of Arrakis with Dr. Liet Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), an ecologist. What starts as a surveillance excursion turns into a rescue mission of sorts as the group witnesses a worm unleash hell on a spice mine. It’s hard to imagine this scene not being included in the first half of Dune, and it should be a showstopper of a moment.
Paul Takes The Gom Jabbar Test Of Humanity
As Dune fans know, great things lie ahead in the destiny of Paul Atreides, and it’s right at the start of the story that he receives his first great test from Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling). The setup is simple enough: Paul sticks his hand into a box that makes him feel like it’s on fire, a poison needle is placed near his throat, and he is told that trying to withdraw from the test means death. It’s a big dramatic moment for the protagonist early in the story, and will hopefully be a sequence that Denis Villenueve uses to jolt audiences.
Admittedly a significant part of what makes this sequence so anticipated is that it should be the first time that we hear the Litany Against Fear in the film, and that will be a special moment for Dune fans. The incantation is an iconic part of the franchise’s legacy, and hopefully hearing Timothee Chalamet recite it as a means of overcoming pain will be chill-inducing.
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Paul’s Visions
Tying in closely with Paul Atreides’ great destiny in Dune is that he starts to have visions of the future after his family moves to Arrakis. This is because of the way he biologically reacts to the planet’s spice, Melange – a substance that not only allows interstellar travel in the universe, but is a drug that expands a person minds. In the film, the sequences should give us a cool glimpse of what’s to come in the character’s future, but what’s also genuinely exciting is simply the thought of them in the brilliant hands of Denis Villeneuve.
Between Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, the director has created two of the most stunning pieces of cinematic science-fiction in the 21st century, and there is every expectation that Dune will be a third title added to that particular list. Paul’s visions of the future should give him an amazing opportunity to have some great fun stylistically, and also provide an epic introduction to Zendaya's Chani.
Paul’s Training With Duncan Idaho And Gurney Halleck
Being the son of Duke Leto Atreides and Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica (a member of the powerful Bene Gesserit sistershood), Paul has a lot expected of him from birth, and that very much includes being prepared as a warrior prepared to fight for his house and his beliefs. It’s because of this that he trains with Swordmaster Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) and weapons teacher Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) in the ways of survival.
When you’re an heir of an important dynasty who needs to learn how to protect yourself, you could do a lot worse than having Cable and Aquaman as your trainers. Joking aside, though, it will be interesting to see what their teaching roles in Dune bring out in Momoa and Brolin, and the training may also be the first opportunity for the film to show off some of the universe’s bad ass technology, including lasguns and Holtzman shields.
The Death Of Duke Leto Atreides
House Atreides moves to Arrakis with Duke Leto fully knowing that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) is setting a trap for him, believing that he has the capacity to stay one step ahead of his enemy, but his mission to try and outmaneuver the tyrannical leader goes horribly wrong. An ally winds up betraying him, allowing Harkonnen to invade the Atreides stronghold – but before he can be killed, Leto makes one last ditch effort to try and take down one of the universe’s greatest evils.
Without getting too into the details, Duke Leto Atreides finds himself with one last ace up his sleeve when he has his final confrontation with Baron Harkonnen and the sadistic Mentat Piter De Vries, and it should hopefully provide the character with an emotional send-off. Nobody is going to feel great after watching Oscar Isaac make his exit in Dune, and hopefully it will happen later in the film so that he can get a good amount of screen time, but it’s still a scene that we are very excited to see.
Are there particular scenes from Frank Herbert’s novel that you are excited to see in Denis Villenueve’s Dune? Hit the comments section below, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about this excessively exciting blockbuster.
Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.