Following on from its Middle East premiere earlier this month, the epic science fiction movie Dune: Part Two will be hitting the silver screen across the UAE today, February 29. But Abu Dhabi didn’t just play host to the star-studded premiere — it also served as a stand-in for Arrakis, the desert planet at the centre of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel the films are based on. If you are looking to explore Dune in Abu Dhabi, here is where to go.
Found on the edge of the Empty Quarter, the largest continuous desert in the world, the undulating sand dunes of the Liwa Desert are awe-inspiring. Plenty of movies have already used the space as a backdrop, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Furious 7 in Hollywood to the Indian Hindi-language movie Race 3.
The fight to control Arrakis, and the spice that is mined there, is central to Dune, and so is the Liwa Desert. The first part of the movie was shot on-site over the course of 11 days, while the second was filmed in 27 days in the winter of 2022.
In a video released by twofour54 Abu Dhabi, director Denis Villeneuve said of his choice to film in the Liwa Desert, “What I found in Abu Dhabi is unmatchable. I mean, there’s a scale to the dune and to the desert and the variety of shapes that we thought was absolutely mesmerising.” According to twofour54, 20 locations were used for Dune: Part Two. While the exact spots haven’t been revealed, some of the crew stayed at Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, so book a stay if you want to step into the shoes of stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
If you don’t fancy a long drive out to the Liwa Desert, you should be heading to The WB Abu Dhabi on Yas Island.
Warner Bros. is the distributor of both Dune movies, and as part of Part Two’s promotion, a spice harvester, or crawler, is on show outside of the hotel. You will have to be quick if you want to look around the cockpit of the set piece, though, as it will only be on display until Monday, March 18.
The events of Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two cover the first novel in Herbert’s six-book series. Commercial success was key to seeing Dune: Part Two greenlit by the studio, and we imagine that there will be huge demand for another movie. Villeneuve has said he is working on the screenplay for a third Dune instalment, which will be based on Dune: Messiah. But if you’re looking forward to many, many, many years of time spent with the sandworms and the Fremen, prepare to be disappointed, as the filmmaker confirmed in an interview with Time that Dune 3 would be his last.
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