No one can question director Denis Villeneuve's love for Dune. His relationship with Frank Herbert's saga of sandworms and messiahs began at age 13 and has culminated in arguably the best sci-fi adaptation of all time: Dune: Part Two. But even a Dune lover like Villeneuve got one thing wrong while making the film: it resulted in a fight (of sorts) with a cast member, ultimately giving the film its only curse word. Let me explain!
Halfway through Dune: Part Two, we learn that Atreides family war master Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) survived the Harkonnen attack from the previous film. The troubadour warrior becomes a spice smuggler following the catastrophe. In a tense moment, right before he reunites with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), Gurney sees a spice-harvester blow up in the sky and mouths the film's only swear word "Oh F**k."
Denis Villeneuve wanted Josh Brolin to use the French-Canadian island term "Tabarnak" instead of dropping the f-bomb. But as he recalled to Collider, the actor rightly pointed out, "Nobody’s gonna know what I’m talking about." He argued that it would affect fans' immersion in the film, saying, "Isn’t that gonna take them out of the movie?" But Villeneuve insisted on using "Tabarnak," arguing that, "In Canada, that’s a huge thing." Brolin quipped, "Yeah, but we’re not in Canada." He still tried doing it Villeneuve's way only for the director to realize his error and urge him to "Just say, ‘f**k.’’
While we're on the topic of things killing fans' immersion in a film, a few people on Reddit complained about the characters' inconsistent accents affecting their viewing experience. A major complaint was Chani's (Zendaya) use of an American accent despite being a Fremen.
Why Chani's American accent in Dune: Part Two makes sense
Even a magnum opus like Dune: Part Two isn't without flaws. But there's a way of explaining Chani's American accent.
We know the Fremen culture in Dune has Arabic influences, which naturally impact their accents. Javier Bardem's Stilgar and Souheila Yacoub's Shishakli have strong traces of Arabic in their speech. Chani, however, is an exception to this rule due to her parentage. The Dune films fail to mention her heritage, but the books reveal Chani is the daughter of imperial ecologist Liet Kynes and a Fremen woman. Fans may remember that the 2021 film gender-swapped Kynes. And though Kynes is a Fremen, the ecologist's father in the books is an off-worlder. Thus, Chani's galactic accent is a result of her unique upbringing.
Likewise, Paul's American accent can be credited to growing up around his father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Gurney Halleck, and others who speak the same way. If you notice, there's a pattern to Dune: Part Two's diverse accents.
The emperor Shaddam IV Corrino (Christopher Walken) and his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) both have American accents. Austin Butler went as far as to mimic Stellan Skarsgård's Baron Harkonnen voice and Swedish accent for his role as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Why Feyd's older brother Rabban didn't speak the same way, you may ask? Perhaps the morbidly obese Baron imprinted more strongly on the younger sibling.
As a fan, I would take an actor speaking in their natural accent over them attempting and butchering another one. That will kill every fan's escapism. If you don’t trust me, watch Denzel Washington do a cringey British accent in For Queen and Country.
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