Why Dune 2's Streaming Release Is Leaving Some Max Users Angry

Denis Villeneuve's massive sci-fi sequel "Dune: Part Two" — his second adaptation of Frank Herbert's beloved novel — is finally available to stream on Max, and fans are actually pretty peeved about it for one specific reason.

When "Dune: Part Two" ran in theaters, fans could choose to see it in IMAX, which displays the gorgeous, ambitious film in all of its glory ... but Max doesn't offer that same option. Apparently, the only aspect ratio available is 2.39:1, which means that the movie is cropped quite a bit for viewers at home, adding black bars on the top and the bottom of the shot. Over on Reddit, fans of the movie's original, enormous format aren't pleased, and hope that a physical release might remedy the issue.

As Redditor u/OvenFearless wrote on a thread about the streaming release, "I'll always be mad they won't release an IMAX version of ['Dune' and 'Dune: Part Two'], likely not even for [the forthcoming project 'Dune: Messiah']. Makes no sense to me, even Disney+ has been doing it with many of their AAA movies and it's an amazing experience. But nope, we have those thick bars even though the whole thing was filmed and intended for IMAX from the get go...." u/sirdouglasdeez agreed, writing, "Really would love to see the IMAX Enhanced aspect ratios for both films. Come on, WB... You have the power to make this a thing!"

On a thread dedicated to disappointment regarding the visual changes seen in the streaming version, Redditor u/magisterium_art mentioned that not only is the scope completely off, some of the shots are cropped so badly that the actors' heads are cut off: "In the trailers and for the IMAX theatrical version they showed the film in the taller 16:9 aspect ratio they shot the film on with the Arri Alexa 65 camera system. In the version on Max, they cropped it to 2.39:1, which means so many beautifully framed shots are letterboxed. Tops of heads are cut off, the feeling of space and scope is constricted. Anybody else notice this? Why did they do this?"

Others in that thread noted that directors like Christopher Nolan — who, like Denis Villeneuve, is fastidious and precise regarding his film's visuals — is released so that fans can watch it in larger aspect ratios, and Disney has IMAX versions of Marvel films on its service Disney+. Still, some noted that plenty of moviegoers saw a "cropped" version of "Dune: Part Two" if they didn't see the original IMAX release, like u/discretelandscapes: "It IS the full film. IMAX is extra (not all the time, sometimes the widescreen version has more to the sides, but I digress). 98% of theaters were showing the film in 2.39:1 aspect ratio."

To be fair to those who saw "Dune: Part Two" in IMAX, it is truly a spectacular feat of filmmaking. The story picks up right at the end of the first "Dune" as Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and her son Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) find themselves stranded in the vast deserts of Arrakis, with the evil Harkonnen forces hot on their tail. When the Fremen people — including Chani (Zendaya) and their leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) — take them in, Paul learns the ways of the group native to the harsh desert, even training to ride a sandworm (which he does successfully, impressing both Chani and Stilgar). Unfortunately, he soon buys into the legend of a messiah known as Lisan Al'Gaib, taking up the mantle ... to the utter disgust of Chani, his lover.

Between the sands of Arrakis — which were filmed largely on location in the United Arab Emirates — and the strikingly harsh sunless planet of Giedi Prime, which is home to the Harkonnens and the location of a truly spectacular gladiator scene partway through the film, "Dune: Part Two" features some genuinely fantastical practical sets and locations. Hopefully, anyone who wants to see it in the full IMAX format might be able to see it in a digital release eventually.