Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has taken issue with the physics of sand in Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two, arguing that key moments in the film misrepresent how sand behaves. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week, Tyson said the Fremen's practice of pounding sand dunes to attract giant sandworms would not produce the thumping sound heard in the movie. "Somebody didn't do the research on that," Tyson told Colbert. "You can't thump sand."
Colbert pushed back, suggesting the sandworms might perceive sound differently than humans. Tyson countered that sand is an effective acoustic insulator. "If you wanted to insulate yourself acoustically from your surroundings, fill the volume with sand," he said. "No one will hear you." He added, "I've got to let it go because there's no movie without it."
Tyson's second objection concerned the movement of the giant sandworms. In the film, the creatures barrel forward in straight lines. But Tyson noted that legless, worm-like creatures on Earth, such as snakes, must slither in S-shaped curves to move forward. "Have you ever seen a snake chase you as a straight snake? No!" Tyson said. "They've got to curl, and they push off the curl."
Colbert and Tyson then traded theories about how the worms might propel themselves, with Colbert suggesting a propellant system on their underbellies and Tyson wondering if they simply defecate rapidly. The source material also notes that Slate questioned the worms' movement, with a biologist concluding the creatures are more like burrowing snakes than worms.
The segment highlights a familiar tension between scientific accuracy and cinematic storytelling. Tyson's critiques are not about the superhuman abilities or magic in Dune, but about details like sand acoustics and worm locomotion. As the source notes, online forum discussions and a 2017 study support Tyson's point that sand absorbs noise well. Yet these liberties are part of what makes science fiction engaging.
What remains unanswered is Tyson's take on AMC's worm-themed popcorn buckets, a question the source leaves open.
Editorial Notes