Dune 2 director assures fans that first film isn’t ’required reading’

Dune 2 director Denis Villeneuve has put fans at ease as he’s revealed that you don’t have to watch Part One to understand the sequel.

Dune: Part Two, the direct sequel to 2021’s Dune and completion of Frank Herbert’s first novel of the series, has been taking the world by storm.

Debuting with an almost perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans are rushing to get back to the sandy planet of Arrakis and rejoin the fight with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet).

As movie goers grab their ticket for one of the anticipated movies of the year, some worry that they may be missing context if they haven’t seen Part One yet, but director Denis Villeneuve has assured viewers that they can still experience the dusty magic even with checking out Dune: Part One.

Villeneuve confirms Dune fans don’t have to watch Part One

In an interview with Moviefone ahead of Part Two’s premiere, Villeneuve explained that anyone could walk off the street and see Part Two without getting lost plot-wise.

“It was important for me that the movie would be kind of autonomous, meaning that someone who has not seen Dune could still enjoy Part Two,” Villeneuve said, “So, we gave enough hints at the beginning of the story to make sure that it was kind of autonomous. Of course, it’s a better journey if you have seen Dune, but I tried that.”

“That was one of the first challenges. I insisted making two movies instead of one [because] I wanted to have the necessary amount of time to dig a little in the [Freman] culture to see the rituals, to see the way the people are praying, the way they are eating, the way that they train, the way the people are and their survival techniques in the desert.”

Even though Villeneuve says that fans can skip Part One and jump into the sequel, it wouldn’t be the best decision if you want to get the full picture.

Herbert’s first Dune novel is so dense and rich in storytelling that Villeneuve made sure to bargain for two films in order to immerse fans into the world, so you would be doing yourself a disservice by not seeing how Paul and Chani’s (Zendaya) arcs began and come full circle in Part Two.