In my 2021 comments about Dune: Part One, I said the film “gave me hope that big screen, big movies, with big ideas, have a future.” Three years later, the film industry’s future is even more in doubt (thank you, AI). But Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two yet again gives me hope.

This time, though, Villeneuve’s Dune epic gives me hope not for the future of cinematic art in a TikTok world, but for the future of evangelism in a post-Christian world. To understand what I mean, read my TGC review of Dune: Part Two. But here’s a quick summary.

Villeneuve’s film centers on the idea of messianic myths and the appeal of religion. Zendaya’s character (Chani) has real skepticism about messianic ideas and religious narratives, which to her are tools of control and manipulation. And yet as much as Chani’s point of view represents a growing posture of suspicion in the post-Christian West, Dune Two can’t fully dismiss religious ideas. Villeneuve presents the beauty of the messianic narrative in a way that is sincere rather than cynical. Can religion be used as a means of control and a tool to reify power? Absolutely, and this is where the film lands stinging blows. But the movie also captures the way a post-Christian, secular society can’t quite escape the values, aesthetics, and hope Christianity gives the world. We’re not done with faith; but we’re certainly conflicted about it.

As masses of people flock to see Dune: Part Two in theaters this weekend, will some of them find their skepticism about religion reinforced? No doubt. But some of these same people—and many others—will also be reminded of the beauty and resonance of the messiah narrative, their hearts perhaps softened to receive the true, better, not-just-a-movie-character Messiah.