Dune’s Latest Trailer Gives a Lot More Zendaya—Timotheé Chalamet Remains Broody

The biggest, immediate difference between the Dune trailer released last year and the one released today, July 22, 2021, is that there’s a whole lot more Zendaya this time around. While Zendaya spoke just a single word of dialogue in the original trailer (she whispered “Paul,” the name of Timothée Chalamet’s character), this trailer opens with a Zendaya monologue in which she explains both the beauty and the oppression found on her character’s home planet.

The action then shifts to Chalamet’s character Paul, the skinny little space prince who confesses he’s been having mysterious dreams about Zendaya’s character. Warner Brothers is certainly now aware that they have a film on their hands with a romance between the characters of arguably the two biggest Gen Z acting stars on the planet, and this time around they’re not afraid to trumpet that fact.

Of course, highlighting the stars still leaves a lot of the plot mysterious. Based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 Sci-Fi classic novel of the same name, it's not exactly like the story is unknown, but it is a bit much to explain in a three-minute trailer.

Basically, Duke Leto Atreides, played by Oscar Isaac, is tasked with sorting out the drama on a desert planet named Arrakis. It also happens to be the universe’s only source of a substance called “Spice,” essentially a magical performance-enhancing drug. So, he moves to the planet along with his son Paul, played by Timothée. Zendaya meanwhile plays Chani, a native of the planet. Paul’s prescient dreams of Chani before the two even met foreshadow his greater developing powers, and then it’s a whole entire “chosen son with special powers sets off to save the universe” plot from there. A giant sandworm is also involved. If all goes well, this could be the first of many Dune films co-starring the power pair.

Directed by the visionary filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, Dune was originally set for release in 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. It is now set for release on October 22 of this year but will have its world premiere in September at the Venice Film Festival.