Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, known for his timely observations on scientific correctness in films, recently expressed concerns about the portrayal of physics in “Dune 2”, the latest chapter of the saga directed by Denis Villeneuve.
During an interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Tyson raised questions not so much about the film’s magical superhuman abilities, but about details like the physics of Arrakis sand. Tyson questioned the film’s realistic depiction of the interaction between sand and sound, stating that if you hit a sand dune, it shouldn’t produce as hollow a sound as shown (but could such a planet exist?).
“You can’t do thumps in the sand“he declared, since It would be an excellent acoustic insulator. Colbert attempted to contradict, suggesting that the film’s giant sandworms, attracted by the sounds made by tapping the special devices on the sand, might “hear differently” from humans, but Tyson remained firm on his position.
Besides the sound issue, Tyson has He also expressed doubts about the way Arrakis sandworms move, moving forward straight instead of meandering as any legless creature on Earth would. “Have you ever seen a snake chasing you in a straight line? No!“, exclaimed Tyson, suggesting that to move, these animals must necessarily adopt an S-shaped movement.
While Tyson is right from a scientific perspective, as sand actually absorbs sound, and snakes move in a meandering manner, these details are often what make science fiction so fascinating. In the end, Tyson himself admits that these inconsistencies need to be left aside for the sake of the filmunderlining how certain narrative freedoms are essential to creating new and stimulating worlds.
By the way, do you know that the Dune novel was rejected by 20 publishers?
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