It looks like Timothée Chalamet’s reputation was salvageable after all – and this new trailer proves it.
The Marty Supreme actor, 30, has been at the centre of controversy for the past week, having been accused of ‘disrespecting’ the arts of ballet and opera with some dicey comments.
Appearing at a live Town Hall debate with Matthew McConaughey earlier this month, Chalamet really appeared to put his foot in it when debating current moviemaking.
The Interstellar actor, 56, suggested that filmmakers are making their finished products more compact now and cutting to conflict faster, since audiences have shorter attention spans and refuse to wait for the action.
While he understood his argument, Chalamet added that, sometimes, slower-paced films can still entice people, such as Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein adaptation.
However, he ‘[didn’t] want to be working in ballet or opera, where it’s like, “Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore”.’
Joking immediately afterwards about ‘taking shots for no reason’, the Call Me By Your Name star was clearly expecting backlash – which is what he got from those working in the profession and its fans.
So, perhaps it’s surprising that, when the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three dropped, Chalamet supporters came out in droves with their excitement.
Some are even campaigning already for his performance to win an Oscar, just after his best actor loss on Sunday. At the ceremony, he also laughed off jokes from host Conan O’Brien about his remarks, proving he’s unbothered by the criticism.
Last night, we got our first look at Chalamet in action as Paul Atreides for the sci-fi franchise’s final instalment, which takes place 17 years after the events of the second film, as it follows the consequences of Atreides’ rise as galactic emperor.
Reacting to it, social media users praised Chalamet for ‘giving his all’ and hailed him as one of the ‘finest actors of this generation’.
Over in the trailer’s YouTube comments, @selfharmageddon0138 wrote: ‘Timothee Chalamet is about to have the biggest aura recovery in human history.’
‘He might hate opera but that war chant is amazing,’ said @thealf3393 of his performance, while @csig2476 added: ‘Hoping this is going to get Denis and Timothée their Oscar’s [sic]’.
@PreetKhuranaa said the trailer gave them ‘goosebumps’ and @ADedits9 predicted that people will ‘forget all about Ballet and Opera during this film!’
‘I truly believe Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides will be the closest thing to Darth Vader we’ll have this century,’ claimed @javistark99 boldly, while several others said they’re unable to ‘wait until December’ for the movie to be released.
The dramatic, war-ridden Warner Bros. trailer opens with Chalamet’s Hollywood co-star and on-screen partner Zendaya embracing him.
Chani asks: ‘If we have a girl, what would we name her?’, to which Atreides says he would call their daughter Ghanima, a name native to the fictional Fremen people in the film, meaning ‘spoils of war’.
He adds: ‘She would need to be strong like her mother.’
Chani then says if the pair have a boy, she would name him Leto ‘so that he would have the wisdom of his grandfather’.
The trailer goes on to show a glimpse of a baby’s head before cutting to Atreides in body armour and wielding a sword, while his voice can be heard saying: ‘War feeds on itself.’
Atreides is then seen in conversation with his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and says: ‘The more I fight, the more enemies fight back.’
Can Dune: Part Three salvage Timothée Chalamet’s career?
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Yes, this will redeem him
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It might take more
Chanting can be heard in the background as clips show British actress Florence Pugh reprising her role as Princess Irulan, removing the hood of her cloak.
Another clip introduces Robert Pattinson, who sports a platinum blond buzzcut and stares menacingly in his role as Scytale, a new addition to the films, wanting to dethrone Atreides.
As the chanting grows louder, the trailer leads into scenes of violence and fighting, and Chalamet’s voice whispers: ‘I’m doing the best I can to protect my family.’
As the chanting stops and cuts back to Atreides speaking to Lady Jessica, he asks, ‘How did father do it?’, to which she responds, ‘Your father never started a war.’
More gory battle scenes then ensue, including a glimpse of Anya Taylor-Joy, who will be joining the star-studded cast as Atreides’ sister Alia.
US star Jason Momoa is also seen at the heart of the action, during a fight scene, as Hayt, a resurrection of his character Duncan Idaho, who died in the first film.
Spanish actor Javier Bardem will return as Stilgar for Dune: Part Three.
Chalamet’s character then climbs to the top of a plinth in front of a crowd, and in a voiceover, he declares: ‘I’m not afraid to die. But I must not die yet.’
The trailer ends with a dramatic clip of Chani running towards an unseen adversary before fading to black, leaving viewers on the edge.
In between clips, text on screen promises an ‘epic conclusion of the Dune trilogy’ after Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).
Dune: Part Three is set to be released in cinemas across the UK on December 18.
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