The first action-packed trailer for Dune: Part 2 is finally here

We’ve been waiting to catch a glimpse of Dune: Part 2, the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s visually stunning, ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel. Warner Bros. dropped the first official trailer today, featuring Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides riding a sandworm to win the respect of the Fremen, as well as the introduction of the nefarious new villain from House Harkonnen.

(Some spoilers for Dune: Part 1 below.)

As we’ve reported previously (also here and here), Herbert’s novel Dune is set in the distant future and follows the fortunes of various noble houses in what amounts to a feudal interstellar society. Much of the action takes place on the planet Arrakis, where the economy is driven largely by a rare, life-extending drug called melange (“the spice”). Melange also conveys a kind of prescience and makes faster-than-light travel practical. There’s betrayal, a prophecy concerning a messianic figure, giant sandworms, and battle upon battle, as protagonist Paul Atreides (a duke’s son) contends with rival House Harkonnen and strives to defeat the forces of Shaddam IV, Emperor of the Known Universe.