Timothée Chalamet surfs on a sandworm

The dream of Arrakis is alive and well in the trailer for Dune: Part Two. Boasting sandworms, Austin Butler pancaked with makeup, and a whole lot of spice, the trailer picks up just where we left Paul (Timothée Chalamet), Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and Chani (Zendaya). Things won’t be getting any easier for the future Mua’Dib as he and Lady Jessica attempt to assimilate into Fremen culture, director Denis Villeneuve told CinemaCon attendees last week.

“There’s a lot of hostility there,” he said. “They will need to prove themselves and gain the trust of the Fremen. Paul will have to find the trust of Chani within their relationship, and she will become his moral compass.” Villeneuve then described that as “probably the worst pitch ever” and recovered by reminding the audience that “Part One was more of a contemplative movie. Part Two is more like an action-packed, epic war movie.”

Thankfully, there’s a trailer that contextualizes what he’s talking about. The clip kicks off with Paul bragging about being around so much water, he can go swimming. As this is a pretty rude thing to say to your dream woman who grew up on a sand planet, Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan basically assures us that Paul is about to get canceled. “In the shadows of Arakis lie many secrets, but the darkest of them all may remain: The end of House Atredies,” she says.

But Paul has another trick up his sleeve: he’s going to ride a sandworm. At CinemaCon, Chalamet describes the sandworm ride as a “transitional moment” for the character when he earns the Fremen’s trust. Being his “moral compass,” Chani has a bigger role to play in Part Two. “She’s not just in dreams this time,” Zendaya said. “There’s so much stress and turmoil and trying to find the balance. These are still just two young people, right? Who are trying to grow up and fall in love while there’s such an incredible amount of pressure on top of that, literally being like a warrior for your people.”

Through it all, Austin Butler is giving cue ball. Elvis has truly left the building as Butler plays Feyd-Rautha, a role made famous by Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation. By Villenuve’s estimation, the character is an “Olympic sword master mixed with the psychotic serial killer.” And though he doesn’t make an appearance in the trailer, Christopher Walker also pops up on Arrakis, bringing, as Villeneuve said, “a beautiful vulnerability and a lot of humanity to a man that betrayed one of his best friends.”

Part Two was also shot entirely in IMAX, whereas the first one was “maybe 40%,” said the director. “It’s like we revisited Arrakis,” he said. “We went through all-new locations. I didn’t want the audience to feel one second of repetition. So it’s all new sets. All everything is new.”

Fear might be the mind-killer, but this trailer is the patience-killer.

Dune: Part Two surfs into theaters on November 3.