The Dune: Part Three Trailer Makes Part Two's Ending Look Much Worse

After writing one of the most successful and influential sci-fi novels of all time, Frank Herbert felt the need to explain to readers that they were wrong about the first "Dune." This is what first drew Denis Villeneuve to adapting "Dune: Messiah" as a movie – to bring to the screen the book's function as a warning about so-called "chosen one" archetypes, and as a rebuttal of the perceived hero's journey arc in the first book.

The first trailer for "Dune: Part Three" shows that Villeneuve was right to bring this story to the screen. Sure, we get some sweet and tender moments of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) talking about their future child, plus we see the triumphant return of Jason Momoa. But the trailer makes something abundantly clear: The end of "Part Two" was not a heroic moment signifying the rise of a messiah. It was a tragedy, an apocalyptic event for the galaxy at large. It's not just that Paul's enemies are fighting back, but that Paul's forces are leaving scores of dead bodies everywhere they go, annihilating entire planets in the name of their leader.

"Dune: Part Two" already laid the groundwork for this, painting Paul's ascension as a tragedy from Chani's point of view. She is the only one who sees Paul's promises of paradise as just another outsider aiming to use the Fremen as a weapon for their own goals. This was one of the key changes "Dune: Part Two" made to Frank Herbert's book and Paul Atreides' journey, teasing the fact that Paul's story is a huge bummer. The trailer for "Dune: Part Three" is now making that explicit.

The "Dune: Part Three" trailer makes it clear that Paul's jihad, his crusade against the Great Houses of the Imperium, is not a short war. Instead, we see shot after shot of Paul and his troops battling in different alien worlds, corpses lying at their feet everywhere they go. How many trillions die for Paul?

The ending of "Dune: Part Two," in which Paul triumphantly declares war on the Imperium and tells his followers to lead their enemies to paradise, was a tragedy. Paul spends the entire movie struggling with the knowledge that achieving revenge for House Atreides would require him to turn into a messianic figure that causes untold horrors. Now, "Part Three" shows the cost of his holy war, and it is insurmountable.

The best part of the trailer is not an action shot, but just a quiet moment where Paul asks his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), how his father managed to protect his family. "Your father never started a war," she answers. This is the thematic crux of "Dune: Part Three," the idea upon which Paul's entire story is built upon. No matter their intentions, no matter how noble they start, following a messianic leader will lead to untold bloodshed. What was a triumph for Paul was also a devastating blow for the rest of the galaxy, and it only gets worse from there.

"Dune: Part Three" is being sold as the conclusion of the story, even if there are more books left to adapt. If this is truly the end, then Villeneuve's "Dune" has a chance to become one of the weirdest and darkest blockbuster trilogies in modern cinema, one that could potentially end on a huge bummer for every major character.