In Dune – both Denis Villeneuve’s incredible cinematic adaptation and Frank Herbert’s source book – there are a lot of characters. But beyond all the Atreides, Harkonnens, Fremen and Bene Gesserit, there’s another one that pops up at regular intervals: Hans Zimmer’s incredible score, which (donning a pompous critic hat) really does feel like a character in the movie. Which is basically just a silly way of saying his music is absolutely incredible – all clattering drums, occasional bursts of bagpipes, and throat-singing galore, bringing a true sense of intergalactic awe to the images Villeneuve conjures up. And if, like us, you regularly jam out to ‘Paul’s Dream’, you’ll want to take a three-minute break from whatever you’re doing right now and watch this performance – led by Zimmer himself going all guitar hero, joined by a whole host of other accomplished musicians, including vocalist Loire Cotler and cellist Tina Guo.
That video is the second-best thing to being back on Arrakis itself – which, of course, we will be in the not-too-distant future, with Villeneuve officially given the green light for Part Two. He’ll be heading back into the desert with Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Javier Bardem – plus, very possibly, Austin Butler and Florence Pugh – later this year to cook up the second half of his adaptation, currently expected to hit cinemas in October 2023. For now, it’s a joy to see Zimmer rocking out as he plays a score that already feels iconic. Surely, Villeneuve will be bringing him back for Part Two as well.
It remains to be seen how Dune will fare at the Oscars this weekend – not only is Zimmer nominated for Score (which is one of the categories controversially cut down for the TV broadcast), but the film is also up for Best Picture. While it has the most nominations overall, it does look set to be overshadowed by frontrunners like The Power Of The Dog and CODA when it comes to the biggest award of the night. But who knows – maybe it’s hiding away like a Fremen warrior under the sand, ready to pop up and surprise everyone…
Oh, and if you want to see Zimmer do this live, as in, live-live, he's performing in the UK this week – at the O2 in London on 22 and 23 March, and at the AO Arena in Manchester on 24 March. Throat-singing from the stalls is optional.