Warning: SPOILERS for Dune.
While it’s exciting that the big battle scenes will finally come to fruition, Denis Villeneuve’s teaser that Dune 2 will lean far more on action than dialogue is also dangerous; going too far with the action could risk ruining what made Dune: Part 1 so successful. Dune (2021) opened with overwhelmingly positive reviews and an incredible box office pull considered it was also released simultaneously for streaming on HBO Max. Following the enthusiastic response to Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi adaptation, audience anticipation grew exponentially when Dune 2 was officially announced for 2023.
Upon its release, Dune (2021) was celebrated for its grandiose nature and the opportunity for the next great sci-fi film franchise, often being lauded as the new Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. What many of these comparisons to iconic franchises noted was how Dune so impressively balanced the spectacle of sci-fi worldbuilding, character development, meaningful action, and the philosophies that drive the entire plot. The lack of upscaled action may have seemed offputting for those used to the sci-fi franchise, but this missing piece was underscored with the understanding that Dune 2 would feature the action as it culminates the wars between families and cultures.
Many complained that there was almost too much talking compared to action, with only a few key fight scenes in Dune. By essentially doing the reverse in Dune 2, Villeneuve isn’t finding that sweet balance to properly explore the action-packed culmination of Dune’s wars while also advancing the intriguing and profound philosophies and world-building set up in Dune (2021). Villeneuve also isn’t necessarily known for his action sequences, he focuses far more on the spectacle of visual filmmaking and character growth. A few of Dune’s fight scenes were great to watch, but it makes the film more powerful when they’re underscoring the philosophic battles rather than overrunning the plot. By focusing on the action instead of the emotional heart of Paul’s journey, Dune 2 could dangerously be falling into the sci-fi sequel trap in which action is used as an unfulfilling crutch to maintain audience excitement. The Terminator films could easily rely on action to keep the sci-fi franchise going, but this would be a great failure for Dune 2 because grandiose fight scenes aren’t what its audience is investing in.
While Villeneuve doesn’t necessarily have to be faithful to the novels and Frank Herbert’s intentions, the director did originally say he wanted to keep his films close to the spirit of its source (via IndieWire). Herbert always implied that action wasn’t the focus of his books, spending much more time on world-building and metaphysical occurrences, so it doesn’t quite make sense that Dune 2 would make action-heavy sequences its core focus. Villeneuve may be exaggerating the presence of intense action in Dune 2 due to backlash from some viewers, but it’s clear there will be more action than Dune: Part 1. Dune’s official trailer leaned on showing much of the action bits that only made up a couple of seconds in the actual movie, so marketing Dune 2 by teasing more action may just be a way to keep the audience's hype up for the 2023 movie.
The Dune battle scene fans have been most anticipating is the one teased in the original trailer, showing Paul in his golden armor before revealing his eyes have turned blue. Paul and the Fremen will continue fighting the Harkonnens and the Emperor in Dune 2, which is important to show on screen, but the long, choreographed set-pieces for battle scenes don’t need to be the primary focus in wrapping up the story. Lord of the Rings ended its trilogy with epic battle scenes, but it equally maintained its focus on the profound philosophies, character arcs, and drama it had built up for years. For many who enjoyed Dune: Part 1, the few important action scenes like Gurney leading the Atreides army into battle, Duncan Idaho single-handedly protecting Paul and Jessica from the Emperor’s army, and Paul dueling Jamis were fulfilling enough action-wise. The ending of Dune (2021) and Dune 2’s overall plot clearly warrant an increased scale of action, but overdoing it risks losing the emotional depth that made Part 1 so great.
