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Dune: Part Two is finally here — and with its awe-inspiring shots of the vast, sandy landscape of Arrakis, it's just as epic as we had imagined it would be.
The film picks up where Denis Villeneuve's first sci-fi flick left off — Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), the last remaining members of House Atreides, are now living with the Fremen, the gritty natives of the arid planet of Arrakis. The Fremen, including Zendaya's Chani, are a hardy people who have adapted to survive on Arrakis's expansive dessert terrain — they live below the ground in sandy caves and cross the dunes doing the eccentric “sandwalk” to avoid be detected by the giant worms that burrow beneath the planet's surface.
Zendaya, Florence Pugh and Rebecca Ferguson may be the most interesting thing about Dune: Part Two.
The second film marks the real beginning of Paul's ascension as a messianic figure amongst the Fremen, as he steps into his role as the “chosen one”. But as fascinating and layered as the plot of Dune: Part Two may be, it is the breathtaking cinematography that captures the sweeping sandy dunes of Arrakis that has captured the attention of fans and critics alike. Villeneuve lingers over the planet's vast landscapes covered in golden sand. We see the giant golden sun casting a yellow haze over the dunes as it rises and sets. We watch as tiny figures make their way across the endlessly expansive sandy ridges. It's nothing short of sublime.
Although Villeneuve's direction and Greig Fraser's cinematography play a big part in creating this evocative, breathtaking backdrop for the events of the second Dune film, the movie owes a lot to its otherworldly locations, too.
So where was Dune filmed? Let's take a look at some of the real-life filming locations that helped Villeneuve bring Arrakis to life.
Wadi Rum, Jordan
The first Dune was filmed in Wadi Rum, a Unesco World Heritage site whose expansive deserts provided the perfect setting for Arrakis. Wadi Rum is also known as ‘Valley of the Moon’ thanks to its other-worldly sandy terrain broken by towering cliffs — it's easy to see why Villeneuve thought it was the perfect setting for his sci-fi epic. The cast and crew returned to Jordan while filming Dune: Part Two, too.
Liwa Oasis, United Arab Emirates
Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi also provided the setting for many of the desert shots in Dune: Part Two. In fact, not only did Villeneuve make use of the arid landscape in his film, he claims that Abu Dhabi actually inspired him.
“Did it influence the way we shot the movie? Tremendously,” said the director to The National News. “The main reason I came here was to be inspired directly by the desert.”
He went on, “You cannot create those shots that we’ve made on a soundstage in a back lot,” adding: “I designed all the shots according to the landscape.”
Although Villeneuve took inspiration from the deserts of Abu Dhabi and Jordan, some critics have noted the director's omission of actors from those parts of the world. "The most overriding issue is the total lack of significant Middle Eastern and North African representation in the cast despite the very clear influence of MENA, Islamic and Arabic culture," wrote critic Hanna Flint for The New Arab.
Drage, Norway
Although Dune: Part Two takes place on the dry planet of Arrakis – in the first film, we get glimpses of Paul's home planet of Caladan. With its green and blue vistas, Caladan is a stark contrast to the arid Arrakis. Villeneueve chose to shoot these scenes in Drage, on the coast of Norway, and on Kinn Island, which sits just off the west coast of the country.
