‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailer: Every Important Detail Only Book Fans Would Know

The first official full-length trailer for “Dune: Part Three”, Denis Villeneuve’s conclusion to the epic space opera based on Frank Herbert’s books, arrived the week of “The Odyssey” release in theaters. In fact, anyone watching The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm (not in India) will be able to catch a roughly four-minute footage of "Dune: Part Three" being shown before it. Meanwhile, the streets are abuzz with all the major and minor details revealed in the trailer and how they compare to the book.

Herbert wrote "Dune: Messiah" as a cautionary tale against the blind worship of charismatic leaders. Book readers know it is a hard one to adapt, not just because of all the sci-fi elements, but also due to the complete flip in the narrative that portrays Paul Atreides’ Muad’Dib in a whole new light. Ever since the trailer dropped, book fans have been hard at work, decoding Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation and how it mirrors or differs from the book. Here is every detail spotted in the “Dune: Part Three” trailer and what it tells us about the film:

The time jump

Unlike the book's 12-year jump, the film will feature a 17-year time jump. There are at least two timelines seen in the trailer, as deduced from the characters' physical appearances: Events that happened right after the end of “Dune: Part Two”, when Chani (Zendaya) is angry at Paul (Timothée Chalamet) for breaking his promise and seizing power in his name, and those from the "Messiah" timeline.

Paul’s ‘Jihad’

This is a place where the film fans win over the book readers, because unlike the books, the film shows Paul's Jihad and his prescient visions come true. Several shots show the destruction—entire civilizations in rubble—resulting from the “holy war” that was done in Muad’Dib’s name.

The Qizarate

The Qizarate are the executioners of Paul Atreides’ religion, furthering the message of their prophet and messiah. Its priests, usually Fedaykin warriors (death commandos), are known as Qizara. In the trailer, they are seen wearing religious robes, unlike the stillsuits that Stilgar (Javier Bardem) and the other Fremen don. 

The Fremen at Sea

The scene in the trailer of the Fremen, led by Stilgar, encountering a sea for the first time on a wet world, is pivotal. Of course, there is awe when they see all that water. But it is a turning point for many, as it expands their view of the world beyond Arrakis and of Paul. In the book, this scene is told through the POV of Farok, a Fedaykin warrior, and results in a certain disillusionment. Isaach de Bankolé has been cast as Farok in “Dune: Part Three”.

The Assassination Plot on Wallach IX

The trailer shows Wallach IX, the Bene Gesserit home planet, where the Spacing Guild and the sisterhood are gathered with four main conspirators: The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim (Charlotte Rampling), the Tleilaxu face dancer, Scytale (Robert Pattinson) and Paul’s wife, Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), are joined by a mysterious floating tank which houses Edric, a Guild Navigator.

The Guild Navigators consume copious amounts of spice, which lets them visualise the path forward and steer the Heighliners through space. This causes their bodies to mutate, and they constantly live in a floating tank filled with vaporised spice. Their abilities also shield them from being seen by others with prescience, like Paul, whose assassination is being planned here.

Princess Irulan’s loyalties

The trailer shows Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan at two points in her life: With her golden hair intact during the Wallach IX conspiracy scene, and bald, with her face covered in some sort of white clay later. The first is when she seeks revenge against Paul, her husband, for what he did to her father, the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV (Christopher Walken). The clay face could either be a Bene Gesserit fertility ritual or her utter conversion to Paul’s cause.

The return of Duncan Idaho (but not really)

Jason Momoa returns not as Duncan Idaho (who died in the first film) but rather as a “ghola”, a clone created from the cells of a dead person. A trailer scene shows a sarcophagus being carried into the throne room with the ghola, who is named “Hayt." Other scenes show Paul fighting Hayt and defeating him, which would never happen if he were fighting the real House Atreides Sword Master. Despite knowing Hayt's purpose, Paul can’t help but be intrigued.

St. Alia of the Knife

Anya Taylor-Joy’s Alia Atreides, sister of Paul Atreides, was exposed to the Water of Life in her mother Jessica’s (Rebecca Ferguson) womb and born with knowledge of the ancestors. She is now St. Alia of the Knife. The earlier teaser gave us a glimpse of her “temple”, which resembles the mouth of the Shai-Hulud (sandworm). In the trailer, she is covered in blood while screaming at the Reverend Mother, which could indicate a pivotal scene with Alia's rage from the book.

Chani and Shai-Hulud

All "Dune: Part Three" trailers have been full of Shai-Hulud imagery, such as the opening of Alia’s temple resembling a sandworm’s mouth. In one major trailer scene, Chani summons a sandworm, which stops right before her. Book readers believe Chani is already pregnant with Paul’s son, who has a connection with the sandworms, explored in the book “Children of Dune”.

The Nezhoni Scarf

Fremen women wear the blue scarf as a sign of devotion to their husbands. Earlier in the saga, Zendaya’s Chani wears the scarf on her head as a symbol of her commitment to Paul. But later, she ties it to her arm, indicating the distance in their relationship. The scarf's shifting possession and placement are a great way to differentiate the timelines.

Paul vs Chani

The most divisive change Denis Villeneuve has introduced in the films is Chani’s character arc. In the books, Chani is devoted to Paul and his cause, even after he marries Irulan, and agrees to be his concubine. However, at the end of "Dune: Part Two," Chani is furious at Paul.

The change simplifies the complex message of “Messiah" by making Chani’s emotions the physical manifestation of Paul’s betrayal of the Fremen. And yet, in some of the trailer scenes, Chani is with Paul again, pregnant and happy and playing with their two kids while wearing the blue Nezhoni scarf. Are they flashbacks, visions or dreams is an interesting question even book readers are pondering.

Either way, the trailer indicates that Denis Villeneuve has delivered on most expectations from “Dune: Part Three”, and only the turn of the story remains to be seen. But the internet mostly agrees: Let him cook.