Dune: Part Two, the highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi masterpiece, has finally arrived. Picking up where the first film left off, Paul Atreides embarks on a perilous journey alongside the Fremen, the desert planet Arrakis’ indigenous people.
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But this new chapter goes beyond spectacular visuals and intergalactic conflict. In a recent interview, director Denis Villeneuve unveils a fascinating detail about the film’s use of the Fremen language, the language specifically made for the movies.
Fremen Language Subtitles Are Not Always Direct Translations In Dune, Reveals Dennis Villeneuve
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From costume and direction to music and battles, Dune has all it takes to define what cinema means. To add in the cherry on the cake, it has its own language as well. The people of Fremen speak Chakobsa, a language made by the director Dennis Villeneuve and David Peterson, the guy who created the language for Game of Thrones.
Villeneuve recently sat down for an interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. During the interview, he discussed the language of Fremen and revealed an interesting fact. As per Villeneuve, the subtitles aren’t always an exact translation of what the characters say in Chakobsa.
“There was like a whole poetry and whole inner logic to the language. For example, when Zendaya says at one point to Stellan Skarsgård, her character Chani says to Skarsgård, ‘you are crazy, you’re insane.’ She says ‘you’re insane.’ But the way she says it in Fremen language is ‘you’re drinking sand.’ That of course for a Fremen, is the ultimate madness.”
The director brought out the example of one particular scene where Zendaya said “You’re Insane” to another character. However, the way she said it in Fremen’s language, it actually meant “You’re drinking sand”, despite whatever the subtitles say.
Dune: Part Two Is Proving To Be a Hit Commercially as Well as Critically
Dune: Part Two was released worldwide on March 1, 2024, and has been praised by fans and critics alike. The movie’s advance tickets beat Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and was released on more than 4,000 screens.
Further, as per Deadline, the movie is projected to gross $65-80 Million in the US and Canada and about $170 at the global box office. Besides the commercial expectations, the movie has also been received well by the fans.
It has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the website’s consensus reading “Visually thrilling and narratively epic, Dune: Part Two continues Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the beloved sci-fi series in spectacular form.” Dune: Part Two is currently in theatres.
