"Dune": Part 2 has released a new trailer. It also gives us some important insights into the world of Dune beyond the sands of Arrakis.

Dune: Part 1 begins specifically away from Arrakis, a desert planet vital to the prosperity of the empire thanks to the presence of spices necessary for interstellar navigation, but the bulk of the film centers on the struggle over the desert planet. The first trailer for Dune: Part 2 also largely adhered to this small-scale, global perspective, sticking to the conflict on Arrakis and its impact on those already on Arrakis.

The second trailer, however, began to expand beyond the spice-filled dunes of Arrakis. Notably, there was the appearance of Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), the Padishah emperor who ultimately created the conflict between the Atreides and Halkonen families in Arrakis. He confronts Paul directly at one point in the trailer and appears likely to confront him in Arachis itself.

This new third trailer continues to shed a small global perspective on the conflict in Araqis, and continues to shed light on the effects of the war and the machinations of the larger Dune universe.

Yes, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya), Sandworm, and plenty of Arrakis make appearances. But Emperor Shaddam IV also makes an appearance, and he becomes increasingly concerned that Paul is being considered a "prophet" and that this is dangerous. Feyd-Lauta Harkonnen (Austin Butler) also makes an appearance. He is a "psychotic" assassin who will be the next ruler of the Harkonnen family and will be Paul's main adversary in the next installment of the "Dune" series. Florence Pugh also makes a brief appearance as Princess Irulan, who is warned by Bene Gesserit about the possibility of Paul's "ultimate power" and its effect on the universe.

In short, as the trailer indicates, fate may arrive in Arrakis, but it is clear that the trailer is meant to emphasize that this conflict and its effects will eventually expand beyond the dunes of Arrakis. This is about to become a universal conflict of epic proportions.

Dune As the March 1, 2024 release date approaches, publicity for "Part 2" is officially ramping up. This date has been pushed back before, but with the writers' and actors' guild strike settled and the arrival of the new trailer, I expect this date to be virtually definitive.

Beginning where it abruptly stopped in Dune: Continuing from Part 1, Dune: Part 2 continues the story of Duke Paul Atreides, the exiled ruler of the Atreides family in Arrakis. Paul has extraordinary powers that he is just beginning to control, including the abilities of the mystical Bene Gesserit cult. He is also rapidly emerging as a figurehead in the Fremen society of Arachis, who see Paul as a prophet with messianic qualities.

In addition to Timothée Chalamet as Duke Paul Atreides, other characters we can expect to see in Dune include: part 2: