Dune 2 director Denis Villeneuve says a Zendaya scene was the moment he knew the film was working: "I did that shot and knew I had a movie"

The following features spoilers for the end of Dune: Part Two... you have been warned!

Every single minute of sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two is a spectacle, but the very final scene is easily one of the highlights. Instead of ending with Timothée Chalamet's lead Paul Atreides, we follow Zendaya's Chani into the desert as she begins a new journey.

Standing alone in the dunes, the camera lingers on Chani's face, with Zendaya laying bare all of her rebel warrior's pain and heartbreak. It is absolutely devastating, reminding audiences that Paul fulfilling his prophecy isn't a triumph – it's a sign that only danger lies ahead.

It's a shattering note to end on and one that lingers long in the memory. And as Villeneuve himself tells 12DOVE, catching up on Zoom after Dune: Part Two topped our best movies of 2024 list, it's one of his favorite scenes from the movie too. In fact, it was with this moment that he realized the film was a success: "It's one of my favorite shots. I did that shot and knew I had a movie."

But why end with Chani instead of the film's lead character? For Villeneuve, this risky move was a crucial one to take in order to honor author Frank Herbert's original intentions of making Dune a "cautionary tale".

He explains: "The idea was there right at the start when we started to write this adaptation. Frank Herbert was disappointed by the way some people perceived the first book, thinking it was a celebration of Paul Atreides. He wanted to do a cautionary tale, a warning about messianic figures, charismatic figures, people that use religion as a form of power."

Villeneuve continues, explaining that the key to unlocking this idea from Herbert was to create an expanded role for Chani: "We had this idea of transforming Chani. In the book she's in the shadow of Paul, but we wanted to give Chani here her own agenda, her own beliefs, her own tale. She has different views of the world from Paul.

"So, the movie was structured around their relationship, then at the start of the third act we embrace Chani's perspective more. And from her perspective we can see where Paul deviates from his path, becoming something he was afraid to become. She becomes our moral compass. It was therefore very important to finish the movie on Chani as that's our angle, our take."

Dune: Part Two is available to stream now on Max in the US and Sky/Now in the UK. For more from our interview, here's Villeneuve on his favorite movies of 2024.