Warning: This article contains potential spoilers for Dune: Part Two.
The latest trailer for Dune: Part Two prompted fans to decipher the message on Princess Irulan's scroll, with one person claiming they "managed to crack it."
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot at 0:23 in the newest Dune: Part Two trailer (below), Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan is shown carrying a metallic scroll with symbols engraved on it, making people naturally curious about the mystery message — so much so that it became the subject of a discussion on Reddit.
One person posted a close-up image of the trailer still and asked the community: "Can you work out what this scroll says?" Fellow Redditor Charm_Quark05 rose to the challenge by enhancing the picture to make the text on the scroll more legible before cracking the code and sharing their findings with the group.
The Reddit user explained the message is in Galach, the official language of the Imperium, which, in the movie, is "written in a phonetic style, where each character represents a sound or a set of sounds." Equipped with this knowledge and an online alphabet translator, the person set about decoding the Galach letters into English.
"The first row reads: 'Imperial Kinsman...' and that's about everything I can make out from it," the code-breaker revealed. "The second row, however, is much clearer, and from that, I was able to read: '...Convention, if the Emperor and his people...' The third row is also pretty clear: '... down their arms and come to me here...'"
The Redditor establishes that it is likely the message from the book that Paul sends to the Emperor demanding his surrender: "I, a Duke of a Great House, an Imperial Kinsman, give my word of bond under the Convention. If the Emperor and his people lay down their arms and come to me here, I will guard their lives with my own."
Dune: Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Pugh plays the daughter of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, who is responsible for granting Paul's father temporary control of the planet Arrakis.
The Denis Villeneuve sequel is one of the big movies coming out in 2024. Dune: Part Two will open in theaters on March 1 after being shifted from its mid-month position on the slate. It was previously set to be released on November 3, 2023, but faced delays in August amid the then-ongoing Hollywood actors' strike.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X @AdeleAnkers.
