Anya Taylor‑Joy’s Alia was underused in Dune: Part Two — why Part Three must fix it

Collider argues that Anya Taylor‑Joy’s appearance as Alia Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two barely registers, describing her role as passing through the film rather than existing within it. The piece says Taylor‑Joy’s presence lasts only long enough to be a suggestion rather than a person, and that the problem is not screen time so much as a lack of narrative commitment after her high‑profile casting.

While calling Dune: Part Two an extraordinary and meticulously made film whose restraint is part of its power, the article contends that restraint becomes a liability when it undercuts character investment — a line most visible in Alia’s late, fleeting introduction. The writer notes Taylor‑Joy is particularly well suited to Alia, a character whose tension depends on being slightly out of sync with the world, and argues that Alia matters most in the franchise’s next phase, where psychological aftermath and the human cost of foresight are central.

According to the piece, Dune: Part Three is positioned as a reckoning and offers a rare chance to turn what felt like a miscalculation into deliberate storytelling; re‑centering Alia would be narrative housekeeping rather than mere fan service and would honor the trust Villeneuve has built with audiences.

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