Warner Bros. went big today with their debut of the new trailer for Dune: Part Three with an international event simulcast at IMAX theaters, which included a live Q&A with director Denis Villeneuve and star Timothee Chalamet from the Los Angeles location.
Along with the debut of the trailer, an extended sequence from the movie was also shown to the fans in attendance. That footage was, essentially, the same that was first shown at CinemaCon in April, though now presented in full IMAX (Villeneuve noted in his intro that it was shot in IMAX 70mm). Having seen the sequence at both events, I can say it was impressive at both but packed even more of a punch in IMAX.
In his intro, Villeneuve explained that this portion of the film was one in which we see the consequences of Paul’s decisions in Dune: Part Two. It’s an incredibly gripping and visually striking sequence that feels like something out of an intense World War II movie, as we hone in on one ship among a large group of drop ships filled with soldiers heading towards the surface of a planet. To reach the planet’s surface, they must pass through a huge storm, which includes massive lightning bolts, one of which hits and blows up one of the other ships.
Onboard the drop ship that is our focus, a familiar face is found among the soldiers in the form of Stilgar (Javier Bardem), as one soldier speaks in amazement about them going to a planet where water falls from the sky. The soldiers all look nervous as they make small talk or hold onto mementos, before one of the commanders gives them a pep talk.
On the surface, they and the men onboard the other ships arrive in the pouring rain, only for a gun to rise out of the surface and fire at them with intense, gatling gun-type firepower (albeit looking like red laser beams) before the gun goes back into the ground. Except then, an entire tower rises out of the ground, covered in more guns that bombard the soldiers, killing many and blowing up some of the ships they just exited.
As the men run behind one of their ships for cover, even amongst the onslaught of firepower, one man still looks up in awe again at all of the falling rain. An attempt by Stilgar’s men to use one of their own powerful weapons to get through one of the towers’ shields fails, with their shots only deflecting back, and bringing even more unrelenting shots down upon them. Finally, one of the soldiers runs away in panic, only to be killed as he flees.
The footage then turns into a montage – essentially a shorter version of the new trailer, with a few alternate moments.
Villeneuve noted that this battle scene – or, at least, as he put it “a glimpse of this scene” will be included ahead of The Odyssey IMAX showings beginning next week, when that film, which also stars Zendaya, opens.
Though there are certainly other tales that could be told in the Dune universe, Villeneuve and Chalamet both spoke at the event about Dune: Part Three as an ending to the story, with Villeneuve discussing how he decided he wanted to move up his original plan to wait a few years to do the third movie, excited by images in his head about what Part Three could be and a strong desire to finish the story. Chalamet also said he felt emotional and as though a true journey was coming to its end filming the final scenes from the film.
Dune: Part Three will be released on December 18.
