This Sunday afternoon at CCXP 2023 in São Paulo, in a surprise that delighted fans and press in attendance, the first 10 minutes of Dune: Part Two—and even more footage—were screened exclusively during the movie’s panel. Director Denis Villeneuve divulged that those present at the Thunder Stage were the first, outside of the studio, to experience these completed scenes.
At this exciting event, the director was joined by Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler! The young stars—now available to do press for the movie following conclusion of the actors’ union strike—were welcomed with roaring cheers from the crowd.
SÃO ELES pic.twitter.com/WE0ySmSVrx
— CCXP (@CCXPoficial) December 3, 2023
For those not attending the convention, Brazilian media outlet Omelete has provided a written recap (in Portuguese) of footage shown. Read further for that description, translated and with minor revisions for accuracy. Spoiler warning in case you prefer not to know how Dune: Part Two begins or details regarding several other scenes.
Opening of Dune: Part Two
The movie starts on Kaitain [with the scene glimpsed in the first official trailer], where Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) is narrating into her dictation device. She covers the destruction of House Atreides and ponders secrets that still surround those fateful events.
Later, we see the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken) himself in a garden, playing chess with his daughter [as seen in the second official trailer]. The Princess remarks that her father hasn’t said anything in a while. Irulan appears to be frustrated with the Emperor’s passivity, and contemplates how House Harkonnen may be behind this.
The next scene [also shown briefly in the second trailer] takes us back to Arrakis, where Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) reinstates his nephew Glossu “The Beast” Rabban (Dave Bautista) as the planet’s governor. This ceremony takes place in front of their massive army.
Then the film’s logo is shown. Immediately Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is heard talking to his future sister, the unborn child that Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) carries in her belly.
Meanwhile, Chani (Zendaya) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem) are on a sandbank, together with a group of Fremen. From the other side, a Harkonnen ship lands and deploys soldiers. The Fremen go into hiding as those soldiers begin to search for them.
Soon, however, the Harkonnens hear noises from an activated thumper—the instrument used by Fremen to attract the sandworms. They successfully locate and destroy the device, but then start getting taken down one-by-one with head shots.
A soldier falls near Paul and Jessica, who are subsequently spotted by one of his companions. The Atreides Duke grabs a blade from a nearby corpse to fight and defeat that Harkonnen, however another has taken aim at him with a gun. Paul is saved just in time by Jessica* – she kills the soldier with a rock to the head.
This early action sequence matches up with with multiple shots from the trailers; those with the curiously orange-hued environment.
*The original Omelete article refers to Chani, however that appears to be in error.
Paul Tells Chani of His Homeworld
Additionally, following these first 10 minutes of Dune: Part Two, two full scenes from later on in the movie were shown. In the first—which matches up with the first trailer’s opening—Paul and Chani are talking among the sand dunes.
The atmosphere feels romantic and Paul is trying to explain to her how Caladan, where he’s from, is full of water. Chani doesn’t believe him, nor does she grasp the concept of swimming.
Paul then asks her, if Stilgar will teach him to ride the sandworms. Chani responds that he’s not yet a Fremen—for now it’s in name only.
Paul Rides the Sandworm
The second scene—likewise featured prominently during the first trailer—takes place when Paul is ready to attempt his first sandworm ride and be recognized as a true Fremen.
Stilgar cautions Paul, telling him not to try anything fancy. We see a nervous Chani, while a fellow Fremen is mocking Paul from afar. Paul then climbs up a large sand dune and places the thumper on his way down.
Presently, there’s huge wormsign forming up in the background. Even Stilgar appears to be startled: “Not one that big!” As the sandworm approaches, the sand around it begins to sink. Paul wields his maker hooks and jumps towards the worm.
After some time, Paul manages to support himself on the great creature’s scales. Little-by-little, he gains proper balance and rises to a standing position. Chani and the other onlooking Fremen celebrate.
New Teaser?
That wasn’t all for Dune: Part Two at CCXP 2023. Next, a video was shown that allegedly teased a few new scenes.
It was full of battles, armies of absurd magnitude, and characters in agony. It ends with Paul standing in the bright sunlight, surrounded by destruction.
Roundtable With the Stars
Finally, Denis Villeneuve, Zendaya Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler made their way to the Omelete Stage. Packed on all sides by loud fans, director and actors shared more about their experiences and the movie’s characters. This part of the panel was streamed live and can be watched here (14 minutes):
All in all, it’s been day to remember for Dune at Brazil’s premier pop culture convention. And, with the the movie now less than three months away, there’s a lot more promotion still to come.
At the very beginning of today’s panel, a new featurette had also been screened. This intermixed various scenes from the movie with commentary from its cast. One statement in particular, from Rebecca Ferguson, stands out: “Dune: Part Two will be bigger than we can imagine.”
