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Let’s briefly recap how “Dune: Part One” introduces the characters and sets the stage for Denis Villeneuve’s magnificent second installment in his cinematic world. “Dune: Part One” opens in the midst of a geopolitical shift as Arrakis changes hands from House Harkonnen to House Atreides, two of the mighty families of the Galactic Padishah Empire.
Paul (Timothée Chalamet), the heir of House Atreides, takes center stage as his family assumes control of Arrakis, which is known for its deserts and the rare substance known as spice that it contains. We learn that spice is both a popular psychotropic substance and a key tool in interstellar travel. Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), is also revealed to be a member of the Bene Gesserit order, and we begin to see how that all-female secret society is setting the stage for a messianic figure to rise up and shake the foundations of the empire.
Once on Arrakis, the Atreides discover that they have been set up to fail. The head of the family, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), is betrayed, and his counterpart, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), recaptures Arrakis with the help of the Emperor’s Sardaukar soldiers. By the time the sand settles, House Atreides and its followers are all but wiped out, and the Harkonnens have resumed their position on Arrakis. Paul and Jessica survive in the desert, where they ally with the indigenous Fremen inhabitants, setting the stage for the second half of the story.
