One cosplayer makes an epic entrance into their Dune: Part Two screening by rolling into the theater atop a motorized sandworm. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the acclaimed sequel to 2021’s Dune continues the story of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides as he fights the Harkonnens on Arrakis. The movie features a number of grand action sequences and moments of pure spectacle, with Paul’s first ride on a sandworm, called the Shai-Hulud by the Fremen, serving as one of the sequel’s most memorable scenes.
In a video posted to TikTok by Josh Gammon, some theater-goers were treated to quite the sight at their Dune: Part Two screening as a cosplayer rides a motorized sandworm through the building.
The cosplayer, who has faithfully recreated Paul’s Fremen stillsuit and garb, even gets the actual riding technique quite right, using two hand spike props to remain steady atop the motorized creation.
Dune Story & World Explained: Characters, Spice & Sandworms
The world of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune is vastly complicated despite the success of Denis Villeneuve’s movie. Let’s break down this complex story.
Why Sandworms Are So Important In Dune: Part Two
The Shai-Huluds’ Role Explained
Warning! Minor spoilers ahead for Dune: Part Two.
While sandworms feature prominently in the first movie, the creatures are really given their due in Dune: Part Two. Instead of being creatures to be feared, as they were in the first movie, Paul’s adoption of the Fremen culture results in the sandworms coming to be seen as allies, of sorts. Paul’s first sandworm ride is a rite of passage, and it essentially cements him as one with Arrakis’ native inhabitants.
Paul’s sandworm ride is a crucial step as his power and influence over the Fremen grows, and he comes to be seen as the Lisan al Gaib, essentially a messiah figure. In addition to furthering Paul’s rise to power, the sandworms also play an important role in the war against the Harkonnens. The Fremen harnessing of the sandworm is, as Oscar Isaac’s Duke Leto puts it in the first film, a key aspect of “desert power.”
The sandworms become instruments of war in Villeneuve’s sequel, and they help to balance the difference in power between the tyrannical Harkonnens and the Fremen. The creatures play a significant role during the Dune: Part Two ending, in particular, as part of a large battle sequence. It remains to be seen how sandworms will feature in a potential sequel to Dune: Part Two, but they evidently made a big impression on at least one cosplayer.
Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part Two is the sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 film that covers the novel’s events by Frank Herbert. The movie continues the quest of Paul Atreides on a journey of revenge against those who slew his family. With insight into the future, Atreides may be forced to choose between his one true love and the universe’s fate.
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Legendary Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Denis Villeneuve , Jon Spaihts
- Cast
- Timothee Chalamet , Zendaya , Florence Pugh , Austin Butler , Rebecca Ferguson
- Franchise(s)
- Dune
- Sequel(s)
- Dune: Part Three
- prequel(s)
- Dune
- Budget
- $122 Million
