Dune Part Two: The Photography contains around 300 photos, selected from an estimated (and staggering) 660,000 images taken by unit photographer Niko Tavernise during the 110 days of production for Dune: Part Two. While some will be familiar from the movie’s publicity photos, or previously seen in The Art and Soul of Dune: Part Two, the vast majority are presented in this hardover book for the very first time. The pictures are a mixture of cast, locations, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and shots taken while cameras were rolling. Most of his works are in color, but with some black-and-white shots included too.
The quality of paper used in this release is excellent, with pictures looking like high-quality glossy photos and no color bleeding through from the other side of the paper (short of holding it up to the light). If it wasn’t a desecration of the book, you could cut pages out and frame them, as they’d almost pass for prints.
Most of the pages have no text at all, apart from occasional page numbers, allowing for these stunning images to speak for themselves. Each image does have a caption, but these are all together at the back of the book, so you may find yourself flipping back and forth if you want to learn more about a specific image. There are a couple of missing or incorrect captions, including one that suggests there is an image of Timothée Chalamet recreating Kyle MacLachlan’s pose from the poster of Lynch’s Dune – I hope that image comes to light!
The pages are thread stitched to the binding, rather than glued, so you can open the book as wide as possible without fear of pages becoming loose. Most of the images are fully contained on a single page, but for the ones that span across the spine, care has been taken such that there are rarely any faces or important details that are spoiled by the curving page edges.
The dust jacket features Paul (Timothée Chalamet) walking down a dune on the cover, and Chani (Zendaya) on the back, but removing the jacket reveals a surprise – unlike the photography book for Part One which had a simple black hardcover with the title of the book, this new book features a full-color wrap-around image of Timothée Chalamet filming the “Long Live the Fighters” speech.
The book is the same size as Dune Part One: The Photography, as well as the two Art and Soul of Dune books, so it will sit nicely among its companion volumes. Sadly, unlike the previous books, there doesn’t appear to be an eBook version available. This makes the, somewhat expensive, hardcover the cheapest option—something which is sure to disappoint anyone looking to save money, or bookshelf space.
The book starts with a foreword by Austin Butler, who worked with Niko Tavernise on both Dune: Part Two and Caught Stealing, followed by a preface by cinematographer Greig Fraser, and then an introduction by Niko Tavernise. With the majority of written words out of the way, we follow the movie’s production through Tavernise’s beautiful photography across the four countries where filming took place, starting at the Brion Tomb in Altivole, Italy for the exterior scenes on Kaitain.
The production then moved to Budapest, Hungary for filming at Origo Studios and Hungexpo, starting with Feyd’s arena entrance. In fact all the Giedi Prime scenes were filmed in Hungary, as were the interior Arrakis scenes, and the “worm unit” which dealt with all the worm riding shots.
The crew then flew to the Middle East, returning to Wadi Rum and Abu Dhabi where Dune: Part One also filmed, with Wadi Rum providing the rock formations, and Abu Dhabi the endless deserts.
Deleted Scenes
Some of the photos provide tantalizing glimpses into scenes that ended up on the cutting room, including a few pictures of Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson), the masked Water Master presenting clear “holy water” to the Fremen after Jessica’s ordeal, and Stilgar with Shishakli holding rocket launchers – which explains the 2-pack action figure set from McFarlane. There are sadly no picture of Tim Blake Nelson, as far as I could find.
Summary
Dune Part Two: The Photography allows readers to return to Arrakis (as well as Giedi Prime and Kaitain) through its wonderful images, and should tide fans over for a few months while we wait for the first images from Dune: Part Three. It is sure to be a welcome addition to the bookshelf/coffee-table of any lover of Dune or those interested in a behind-the-scenes look at world-class film making.
The book releases in the U.S. on November 4, 2025 through Insight Editions, but the U.K. gets it two weeks earlier on October 20, 2025 from Titan Books.
About the Author
Niko Tavernise is an editorial, portrait, and feature film photographer. His work has been published in outlets such as The New York Times, Variety, The Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and NPR. His features include Dune: Part Two, Challengers, West Side Story, Black Swan, and Joker, among others.
About Titan Books
Titan Books is a division of Titan Publishing Group and a leading world publisher of media entertainment fiction, non-fiction, and lifestyle publishing, as well as a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling publisher of original genre fiction. Titan Books’ acclaimed entertainment and culture non-fiction publishing includes a wide range of some of today’s most exciting franchises and studios, including Netflix, Alcon Entertainment, Marvel, Star Trek, Alien, and many more. The diverse publishing program includes critically acclaimed retrospectives of beloved film and television classics, exciting Making of companions to blockbuster media and gaming properties, and a wide range of in-universe guides and cookbooks to allow fans to fully immerse themselves in their favorite worlds. The division’s original and licensed fiction includes some of today’s biggest names in genre and includes numerous bestsellers and award-winning titles. Learn more at titanbooks.com.
Note: Many thanks to Titan Books for providing the Dune News Net team with a review copy of this book.
About Insight Editions
Insight Editions pushes the boundaries of creativity, design, and production with award-winning books and collectibles. From collaborations with innovators like James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro to partnerships with global brands including Warner Bros. and Disney, Insight Editions creates stories and experiences for fans, readers, and seekers of all ages that transcend the page. The dynamic catalog ranges from pop culture to photography to cooking to nature conservation. Learn more at insighteditions.com.
About Legendary Entertainment
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to worldwide audiences. Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world’s most popular intellectual property. In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $20 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com