Desert Chant Puts Timothée Chalamet's Voice at the Start of Dune: Part Three
Timothée Chalamet opens the first song from Dune: Part Three with a hum.
Desert Chant has been released as the first single from the film, according to Variety. The track was written by Hans Zimmer, who also scored the previous Dune films. It begins with Chalamet humming softly before rising into a full war chant.
Chalamet appears on the song as Paul Atreides, the central character he plays on screen and returns to play in Part Three. His voice was already heard leading the Fremen chant in the film’s trailer, the vocal performed by Paul’s desert allies, according to Yahoo Entertainment. On Desert Chant, that voice moves to the front. The hum is quiet at first. Then more voices join it.
Dune: Part Three takes inspiration from Dune Messiah, the second novel in Frank Herbert’s Dune saga. The story is set 17 years after the events of the previous film. That jump forward means audiences will meet a Paul who has lived with the consequences of his rise to power.
The film is due in theatres on Dec. 18. It will play in theatres and IMAX, giving the desert sequences the largest screen and the loudest sound available. A theatrical opening means it arrives first in cinemas, rather than launching directly on streaming.
Several familiar faces are coming back for the new chapter. Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and Pugh return, with Pugh’s Princess Irulan, the emperor’s daughter turned chronicler, expanded into a bigger role. Anya Taylor-Joy is back as Alia Atreides, Paul’s younger sister. The new additions include Robert Pattinson and Isaach de Bankolé, who joins as one of Paul’s former Fedaykin death commandos, members of his most loyal fighter guard.
What makes this stand out is how little separates the actor from the score. Film songs are often performed by a guest singer. Here the lead actor carries the opening sound himself, blurring the line between performance on screen and performance on the soundtrack. For fans, this means the first new piece of Part Three is not a trailer image. It is Paul’s voice, starting almost as a whisper.
