Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two was released earlier this week to overwhelmingly positive reviews with many calling it the director’s masterpiece. The film starred Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and more. The film continues the story of Paul Atreides and his quest to be the Lisan al Gaib.
The two-part Dune franchise by Villeneuve is an extensive adaptation of the first novel by Frank Herbert and chronicles the Atreides House’s shift from their home planet of Caladan to the desert planet of Arrakis, where they face threats from the evil Harkonnens. A pivotal scene between Baron Harkonnen and Duke Leto was turned into a joke by social media as they compared it to the FX series The Bear. Spoilers ahead.
Pivotal Dune: Part One Scene Turns Into The Bear Joke
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise was one of his most ambitious projects yet. The Blade Runner 2049 director was hired to direct the popular sci-fi epic novel franchise by Frank Herbert in 2017 and has mentioned that it was his dream to adapt the book series since he was a kid. The film was written by Villeneuve along with Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts.
The first part of the two-part adaptation of Dune was released in 2021 and was a commercial success, despite getting a simultaneous streaming release. The massive star cast of the film along with Villeneuve’s vision was lauded and the film earned positive responses. The first film adapted half of Frank Herbert’s Dune, which sees the Atreides family be betrayed and attacked by the Harkonnens on the desert planet of Arrakis.
After the attack, Duke Leto Atreides is captured and brought to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Leto has a poisonous tooth filling, ready to sacrifice himself at the right time to kill the evil Harkonnen. While Leto bides his time to get ready for the moment, Baron Harkonnen is seen eating food in the royal kitchen, and he exclaims, “You have a wonderful kitchen, cousin.”
A user on X (formerly Twitter) used the scene as a meme template and compared it with the comedy-drama series The Bear. The TV show is set in a Chicago restaurant that has Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach running it after the death of their characters’ brother. Fans were quick to respond with more memes from The Bear.
Dune: Part 2 pic.twitter.com/WFDGDyql2b
— jabbey (@JoeAbbey) March 3, 2024
@callum_berridge @jak1oh3 when I rewatched Dune recently I had to replay this with subtitles on because I thought I had gone mad
— Michael Dodds (@DoddsAndEnds) March 2, 2024
His name is «Richard Atreides» pic.twitter.com/o3h56IBg2n
— Paul Atreides.fuel (@0xAmirhossein1) March 2, 2024
— Matador 🏳️🌈 🇺🇦 (@flushthechumps) March 2, 2024
Yeah, it's a deleted scene. He was supposed to be in that dinner scene. His full name is Baron Vladimir Harkonnen Berzatto.
— Junaid Badar (@Junaidbadar20) March 2, 2024
Despite the seriousness of the scene in Dune: Part One, the meme just took away all the drama and tragedy from the pivotal scene.
Will There Be A Dune: Part Three?
The Dune novels have many sequels that chronicle Paul Atreides’ arc. While the second film Dune: Part Two sets up the third film and the continuation of the franchise, a third film based on the second novel Dune Messiah is yet to be greenlit by the studio. Denis Villeneuve has claimed that he worked on a script for the adaptation of Dune Messiah and would want to finish the film before leaving the franchise for good. (via Time).
The director also mentioned his desire to make it into a complete trilogy before moving on to other projects. He said to Empire magazine,
“If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be the dream. I will say, there are words on paper [for a third film].”
Denis Villeneueve’s Dune: Part Two introduces a few characters such as Paul’s sister Alia Atreides, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, with Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan also having a more substantial role in the sequels. Dune Messiah reportedly includes further delving into his visions of a massacre after he becomes the messiah and emperor of the guild.
Dune: Part One is streaming on Max. The Bear is streaming on Hulu.
