TikTok asks: What if Dune 2’s climactic fight was actually… a meet cute?

polygon.com:

Dune: Part Twois the biggest movie of the year so far, and TikTok has latched onto every aspect — from Stilgar attributing everything as proof that Paul is the messiah to the appreciation for sandworms. The platform boasts a mix of explainers, jokes, and skits reinterpreting scenes from Dune: Part Two.But one final moment between Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen has surprisingly taken off.

As Paul and Feyd square off for their destined showdown, director Denis Villeneuve keeps the tone tense. We’ve already seen both of them kill in cold blood, and now they’re fighting for the rule of the galaxy. Then Paul says “May thy knife chip and shatter,” and it seems to kind of break Feyd. The Harkonnen scion doesn’t respond right away, cocking his head slightly. Eventually, he repeats the line back, but it’s unclear what he’s feeling as he says it. Is he confused by Paul’s declaration, or is he looking at Paul… differently than before?

When I get my hands on those book count y’all’s days#dune #dunemovie #dune2 #duneparttwo #feydrautha #paulatreides

Okay so marry me? Like??? #dune #duneparttwo #dunepart2 #paul #atreides #paulatreides #frankherbert #timotheechalamet #austinbutler #maythyknifechipandshatter #hua #huahua #huahuapng

Feyd’s reaction is a perfect TikTok moment, equal parts confused and aroused. In many of these clips, the creator plays both parts, depicting Paul seriously but raising their eyebrows or biting their lips when it’s time for Feyd’s part. They’re mostly coy about it, and combined with the Feyd/Austin Butler fancams and the “I can fix him” captions, it’s all pushing this bald psychotic babe into the mainstream, along with maybe a potential love for Paul from an ambiguous fight sequence.

But is Butler playing Feyd in this scene as being sexually into Paul? It wouldn’t be out of line for a deranged, emotionless killer like Feyd to have a completely inappropriate response to a situation. Remember how many times