Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet on filming ‘awkward’ romance scenes in ‘Dune: Part Two’

Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet have opened up about the struggles they faced in recording their love scenes for ‘Dune: Part Two’.

From limited filming times at sunset to awkward romance scenes where the two struggled to understand how to flirt while restricted to the futuristic language of ‘Dune’, bringing to life the love affair between Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Zendaya’s Chani was as difficult as traversing the sand dunes that make the planet of Arrakis.

Maneuvering the “futuristic space talk” of ‘Dune’

“It was funny trying to figure out in this futuristic space talk, like, how do they flirt?” Zendaya told Vanity Fair.

“What does that look like for a space warrior and the young duke of a planet? How do they show that they like each other? What does that even sound like?” she said of the romance, which becomes a major plot point compared to ‘Dune: Part One’.

“We were definitely trying to navigate that, which was funny because all of us were stumped. I think it’s just as foreign to us as it probably is to the characters.”

What is the plot of ‘Dune?

The plot of ‘Dune’ revolves around a young duke, Paul Atreides, who comes into the position after his father is assassinated in a plot to destroy the powerful House Atreides when they were sent to overlook the desert planet Arrakis, which contains a valuable element that rivals gold: spice.

After Paul and his mother, Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) find refuge in Arrakis’ deserts and the Fremen people, Paul finds he is a major factor in a long-told prophecy, and that Chani plays a major role in his future.

But ultimately Paul and Chani are teens that are attracted to each other, and Chalamet and Zendaya found themselves portraying the awkwardness and clumsiness that comes with that territory.

“Awkward and uncomfortable—there’s all those things,” Zendaya said of the character’s romance. “I was like, Does Chani get awkward? Does that happen to her? Does she know what that feels like?”

Chalamet took his understanding of Chani as the key to understanding Paul.

“The universe of Dune is a complex world of geopolitics and with tons of ecological and technological metaphors that hold up today,” he said. “But at the center, there’s this relationship where Chani sort of becomes a moral compass.”

He continued, “Even to say that out loud feels kind of huge, and she’s really the humanizing, grounding force to that.”

“I think something we can all relate to is just love.” Zendaya added.

Filming at the right time to capture the romance

Having to make the most of the “magic hour”, that is, the one hour of golden lighting that occurs during sunset, Zendaya and Chalamet learned how to take advantage of the limited filming time to hone in on their character’s relationship.

“You kind of feel like, Okay, we got here, but we have maybe an hour to get this. So we revisited a bit every day, and over a few days, that gives us a few hours,” Zendaya said of the rushed scenes.

“Every time we revisited it, we kind of got to sleep on it and think about it, and come up with a new set of ideas.”

‘Dune: Part Two’ is set to be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.