Dune: Part Two Stars Describe Ending as “Painful” and “Heartbreaking”

The finale was just as devastating for the performers bringing the story to life.

February 29, 2024, 9:10pm

While many audiences are looking forward to Dune: Part Two for all the thrilling action and sci-fi adventure that has been teased, fans will also witness Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides develop an intense romance with Zendaya’s Chani, as well as witness the introduction of Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan, creating all-new relationships in the spectacle. Part of what made Frank Herbert’s original Dune novel such a seminal piece of science fiction is how the journey doesn’t go the ways fans were expecting, with stars Zendaya and Pugh recently detailing just how “heartbreaking” it was for them to bring the adventure’s conclusion to life. Dune: Part Two lands in theaters on March 1st.

WARNING: Mild spoilers for Dune: Part Two below

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While we won’t directly detail what happens at the conclusion of Herbert’s novel, the response from the stars about the ending imply that Dune: Part Two remains faithful to the source material.

“I feel like it’s heartbreak,” Zendaya shared with ComicBook.com about her reaction to the final scenes. “There’s heartbreak, there’s betrayal, there’s loss and confusion. I feel like it’s quite a painful ending. It doesn’t end like, ‘Oh, someone won!’ It’s not that. [It’s] a lot of broken dreams and hearts.”

“I think, for me, when I read those final few pages, it made me suddenly go, ‘Ah, she’s far more knowledgable than I thought she was,’ from Princess Irulan’s perspective,” Pugh pointed out. “I think it’s truly a moment where she realizes her power and her position going forward and keeping her namesake and also realizing this is purely transactional and it’s a business decision. And I love that for her. After watching, for an entire movie, of her just listening and watching and taking things in, she’s as much a part of this decision as he is.”

She continued, “And then there’s that moment between [Paul and Chani] at the end, which is just so heartbreaking, and I truly believe [Irulan] clocks that. I think she understands what this means. Through [Chani’s] very beautiful, sad face, does she understand that this was not part of the plan, which means that, realistically, she’s needed in this deal as much as she needs them. So there’s a lot that’s going on underneath everything. It doesn’t feel good. It purely makes you ready for what’s going to happen next, which is very, very exciting.”

Dune: Part Two will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

The big-screen epic Dune: Part Two includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Léa Seydoux, with Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. Denis Villeneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Frank Herbert‘s iconic novel.