“Really hard thing to do on stage”: One of Dune: Part 2’s Most Electrifying Scenes Had The Crew Scratching Their Heads About How to Film it
The long-awaited sequel to Dune hit theaters this March, with director Denis Villeneuve back at the helm. This time, fans get to see more of Paul Atreides, the young duke navigating the harsh desert planet Arrakis.
The movie promised a bigger bite of Frank Herbert’s incredible universe (which it certainly delivered) by letting fans know more about the Fremen, the desert people fighting to survive, and how Paul wrestles with his own fate.
Timothée Chalamet continued to impress as Paul by showcasing his transformation from a young leader to something more powerful. Even Zendaya stepped up in a bigger role as Chani (Paul’s love interest). But that’s not all. The movie also featured some incredible scenes that literally captured the hearts of many.
However, there was a massive challenge in bringing to life a particular scene in the sequel. The scene under discussion is a crucial fight sequence featuring Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
Dune: Part Two‘s Mind-Bending Scene Baffled Crew
Greig Fraser, the Oscar-winning cinematographer for Dune faced difficulties in a fight scene due to the limited time available during a sunrise setting. The big challenge was making it look just right. He said in an interview with ReelBlend Podcast:
“This period of time, it’s hard to go all right. Do we shoot that at night, the whole Paul-Feyd fight or do we shoot it in the morning. It’s like well it wouldn’t be as good at night because I don’t think it needs some level of the world’s kind of you know wake turning around like it, so we had to do it.”
However, capturing a realistic “Sunrise which is a really hard thing to do on on stage” with vast windows proved to be a logistical nightmare. Fraser and his crew tackled the issue by creating a massive lighting setup, which he called “probably one of the biggest lighting setups” he has “ever done.”
This special sun they made had to look just like a sunrise coming up over the horizon. They planned it meticulously, even lighting up the scene before filming and getting the director’s approval.
The cinematographer stated that teamwork was key in solving the problem. He gave big props to Jamie Mills, the head gaffer, for helping design the huge lighting setup. “Full credit to our crew,” the 48-year-old acknowledged.
Third Dune Movie is in the Works
Denis Villeneuve will return to finish his Dune trilogy by adapting Frank Herbert’s book sequel, Dune Messiah. The third movie was announced on April 4, 2024, by Legendary, the production company.
In a South Korean press conference in December 2023, Director Denis Villeneuve mentioned that the script for Dune 3 is almost finished (via YouTube). Fans are eagerly awaiting the next chapter, but so far, all we know is that the movie is in the works and there’s no official release date announced.
Watch Dune: Part Two on Apple TV.
